Leading up to their playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles was deemed by many critics and opposing players as unfit to lead his team deeper into the postseason. Perhaps the most notable comments came from Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, who called Bortles a choke artist.

After Casey and the Titans were dismantled by the New England Patriots, Bortles and the Jaguars managed to pull out a clutch victory over the heavily-favored Steelers. Following the game, defensive linemen Calais Campbell and Malik Jackson were sure to remind Casey about his strong comments while praising their quarterback. According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, Bortles was appreciative of his teammates having his back after the huge win:

“That type of stuff for me is big. I don’t care much about what is said outside our locker room. What I care about is inside that locker room. Those are the opinions I care about. When other people say stuff, it doesn’t bother me. But to see guys in that locker room stand up for me and say stuff, it’s pretty cool,” Bortles said. “Because those are the opinions I value and the guys I want to impress and do well for.”

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Bortles is no stranger to dealing with criticism. The former third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft has taken plenty of flak thus far in his career for his fluctuating performance. The disparagement has continued despite the fact that Jacksonville is in the midst of one of the best seasons in franchise history.

Fortunately, Bortles has done a solid job of deflecting any negativity to stay focused on the task at hand. He now enters the biggest game of his career against the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship.