There were plenty of questions surrounding Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles going into the 2017 NFL season. Fortunately, he was able to answer them by taking Jacksonville to the AFC Conference Championship.

There were a number of factors that attributed to his success last season. However, according to ESPN's Michael DiRocco, Bortles feels having the support of his teammates really went a long way:

“I think any time you feel you get the support of the locker room, that definitely helps just playing quarterback, and I felt that I had that all last year,” Bortles said. “The contract stuff doesn't really change anything about how I think or how I approach every day. I think the biggest difference going into this year is just the fact that we're going into Year 2 with [coordinator] Nathaniel [Hackett] and having him calling plays for the second year in a row.

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Bortles added that he hopes to keep the same approach moving forward.

“Having that continuity and being out there, trying to coach the guys and being able to be there and help those guys out rather than this time last year, I'm trying to learn it right there with him.”

Needless to say, there is plenty of truth to Bortles' comments. Aside from his breakout year in 2015, he had done little to prove his status as the team's franchise quarterback moving forward. As a result, last season shaped up to be a bit of a make-it or break-it year for him.

Fortunately, he managed to take full advantage of it by enjoying the most efficient year of his career. Despite Jacksonville's run-heavy approach, Bortles still threw for 3,687 yards and 21 touchdowns while completing a career-best 60.2 percent of his passes. The Jaguars have since rewarded him with a three-year, $54 million extension.

Although he may have signed a lucrative deal, the expectations still could not be any higher. Now that the bar has been set it will be on Bortles to deliver in the near future.