Jaguars Notebook: Quarterback not to blame; two penalties help seal Jags fate and more

FOXBOROUGH –  For much of the past week, Blake Bortles seemed less like a post-season quarterback and more like a punching bag.

Blake Bortles? This was the quarterback who was going to come into Gillette Stadium and help the Jacksonville Jaguars knock off the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game?

Get serious.

As it turned out, the Jaguars fell just short. But don’t blame Bortles, who was just fine in the Jags’ 24-20 loss. Bortles completed 23-of-36 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown, earning a quarterback rating of 98.5.

“He did a great job today,’’ said wideout Allen Hurns. “And that is all year. People say what they want about him, but he comes into the building each and every day, ready to work. Another reason everyone on the team respects him is, he never throws anyone under the bus or complains about anything. He has our respect.’’

"Blake did amazing,'' said wide receiver Marquise Lee. "He had no turnovers and went out there and managed the game.''

Of course, Bortles wasn’t perfect. Though he didn’t have any turnovers, he was guilty of taking a costly delay-of-game penalty as the first half wound down, helping the Pats get the ball back for a drive that resulted in the home team going into the locker room trailing by just four.

“I looked up and the clock was running down,’’ said Bortles. “I tried to get it snapped (in time) and didn’t get it off.’’

Bortles had 88 yards rushing in the Jags’ wild-card win two weeks ago against the Buffalo Bills, but the Patriots defense contained him Sunday.

“Yeah, the defensive ends did a good job all day playing the zone-read,’’ said Bortles, “making me hand it off and then kind of closing in, trying to get in on the play. I thought they did a good job of taking that part of our run game away.’’
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In big games, big calls can go a long way in determining the outcome. The Jaguars were unhappy with two that went against them on consecutive plays toward the end of the first half.

In the first, safety Barry Church was called for unnecessary roughness for a hit on Rob Gronkowski.

“I just tried to dislodge the ball,’’ said Church. “He’s a big dude and I was just trying to dislodge the ball, but I guess they felt it was just too high of a hit. It was a tough call, but you have to go with what they call. It’s the toughest play in football. If you go low for the knees, you’re considered a dirty player. And if you go high, they throw the flag at you.

“It’s a bang-bang play and I was just trying to play football. I tried to lead with my shoulder. That guy is humongous. If you wait for him to catch it and bring it down, he might run you over. You have to go with it and try and hit him in the right target zone, but going 100 miles an hour like that, it’s nearly impossible.’

Gronkowski suffered a concussion on the play and didn’t return for the rest of the game.

“I hope he’s healthy,’’ said Church. “I know he didn’t come back, so I hope he’s alright.’’

The second call in question came on a pass interference penalty assessed to cornerback A.J. Bouye after Tom Brady failed to connect with receiver Brandin Cooks.

“I need to go look at the rulebook for PI,’’ said Bouye. “You’re telling me the receiver can have his hands on me the whole way down the field, but if I look for the ball and try to protect myself, I get a flag. But I just have to be better. I can’t put myself in that situation. If it’s a flag, I gotta own up to it and find a way to get better.’’

“It was thrown out of bounds, Bouye was covering (Cooks), they’re both fighting for the ball,’’ said Jack, “both fighting for position. It’s the playoffs, man.  I didn’t agree with either of those calls, at all, neither of them. I thought they were ticky-tack.’’

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Not that the Jaguars needed any additional convincing, but if anything, their respect for Brady only grew.

“He’s a hell of a player,’’ said safety Jarrod Wilson. “He will go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game and you saw why. Time and time again, he’s going to deliver in clutch situations like he did today.’’

“He’s the greatest quarterback to ever play this game,’’ said safety Tashaun Gipson. “You can never have a safe lead with ‘12’ at the helm. We knew we had to keep our foot on the gas. That’s Tom Brady, the greatest to ever lace up the cleats at the quarterback position.’’

But perhaps linebacker Myles Jack, humbled in defeat, put it best.

"Brady's gonna Brady,'' said Jack. "We got Brady'd.''