The cliché is "when it rains it pours." The Jacksonville Jaguars are sitting in the middle of a monsoon.
Blake Bortles' nightmare season continued in an agonizing 24-21 loss to the Houston Texans. The quarterback tossed an early pick-six to put his team behind. Then he tried to throw away a busted screen pass, but the ball bounced off running back T.J. Yeldon's leg and was snagged by Whitney Mercilus.
Watch this. Seriously, this only ever happens to terrible teams:
"No, I've never seen that," Bortles said, via the Houston Chronicle. "From the time you start playing quarterback, they tell you if the screen is covered to throw it at his feet. I was trying to make a smart play, live to play another down and then that happens.
"It was unfortunate, but stuff like that happens from time to time and you've got to deal with it and bounce back from it."
While that throw away was bad luck, it's a microcosm of Bortles' disastrous year. It's not just that his mechanics are out of whack. The third-year quarterback doesn't trust his eyes and lacks all semblance of confidence. Bortles is fighting like hell, but nothing is clicking.
"It's on me to go out and go play," Bortles said, per ESPN. "Go play as hard as you can and have fun and be successful. When that doesn't happen, you seem to find a lull and can't get out of it. I mean, there's nothing else you can do but keep your head down and keep working. It's all you can do: Believe in yourself and believe in the guys in the locker room, because there's not a whole lot of other people who do.
"I know people are agitated and frustrated with everything -- as are we. This isn't fun for anybody. We don't want to have to do this, but I think, like Gus (Bradley) has said before, that this is something that is going to make better players out of everybody here and better people as well. Like I said, all you can do is keep your head down and keep working."
If you're wondering whether the Jags will sit their starter so he can work on his mechanics and confidence, Gus Bradley has a blunt response for you:
"No," he said after the game.
