In the early goings of the third quarter of the Jacksonville Jaguars' divisional game against the Houston Texans, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone decided to finally put starting quarterback Blake Bortles to the bench in favor of Cody Kessler.
At that point in the game, Bortles was having another horrible outing where he completed just 6-of-12 passes for 61 yards with two lost fumbles that directly led to Texans touchdowns. This has been the third straight game where he has played in disappointing fashion.
After the game, coach Marrone was quick to point out that the benching is not just about Bortles but also the terrible play of the whole team. ESPN Staff writer Michael DiRocco quotes coach Marrone's comments in an article.
Jaguars coach Doug Marrone on benching QB Blake Bortles and being upset at the offense: “Thought process was you can take all 11 out, you don't have enough people to put in. Thought process: ‘Hey listen, I'm going to take the quarterback out.' Not like he had he played worse anyone out there. He had two fumbles. I just literally did it to try and get a damn spark from this football team to put everyone on notice. They have to focus and go out there and play better. At points in second half they did it. That's not fair to the QB, but that's how the business is….Questions will be who is your starting QB next week, focus will be on that. For me, it is on everyone.”
Based on Marrone's comments, it's still possible that Bortles will be back to start the next game. So far this season, Bortles has failed to replicate last year's production where he led the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game. Hopefully, this serves as a wake-up call for him and the whole Jaguars roster.
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