The Jaguars' opening three minutes -- a bungled kickoff return, two incomplete passes and a 3-yard run -- painted a gloomy picture for the rest of Jacksonville's Sunday afternoon, which ended in a 19-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Now 0-3, a team that many pegged to finally make the leap is struggling to find their first win as they head to their second hometown of London to face the Colts this weekend.
Quarterback Blake Bortles has shouldered the burden.
"We had unbelievable field position and continued to tremendously underachieve as an offense," Bortles said, via the team's official site. "That's nobody's fault outside of mine, I believe."
Bortles finished the game 24-of-38 for 194 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. It was his second straight week with at least two picks, which gives him a grand total of six on the season so far. Had it not been for a brain-numbing performance from Ryan Fitzpatrick in Kansas City on Sunday, Bortles would be tied for the NFL lead in picks, along with Jameis Winston.
But is Bortles right? Is it all his fault?
Watching the Jaguars against Green Bay and Baltimore this season was strange. They have all the elements of a good team. Jalen Ramsey was enjoyable to watch and is already showing signs of a legitimate franchise cornerback (six targets, with four catches and 13 yards allowed on Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus). Dante Fowler already has two sacks, even if he is a little over-eager at times and finds himself washed upfield out of the play.
The defense is among the top 10 in yards per play allowed, just 0.6 yards more than the first-ranked Minnesota Vikings.
While you cannot blame all your struggles on one person, something just doesn't look quite right with Bortles. He missed a streaking Marqise Lee early in Sunday's loss which could have produced the three points that won the game. Instead, they punted to the Ravens and gave up a touchdown. Over the course of the game, Bortles struggled with touch on his passes -- all of which seemed to be slightly too strong or too weak. He also watched as some of his best plays were called back (like a lengthy screen to Marcedes Lewis in the second quarter that was called back for a holding penalty). There were large chunks of the game where he looked dejected or upset.
This week, Bortles has one more good opportunity to turn it around before the season really starts to slip away. If he corrects course after an 0-4 start, it may be similar to his breakout season in 2015 -- too late for enough people to take notice.
