National Football League

Blake Bortles gets first NFL action; Jaguars bench Chad Henne

Published Sep. 21, 2014 3:05 p.m. ET

foxsports

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars have turned to rookie quarterback Blake Bortles.

Trailing 30-0 at halftime against Indianapolis on Sunday, coach Gus Bradley benched Chad Henne and gave the third overall draft pick a shot.

The first half of Jacksonville's home opener was a debacle, with Henne completing 4 of 7 passes for 33 yards and getting sacked three times. It wasn't entirely his fault, though, since the defense allowed 330 yards.

Since the day the Jaguars drafted Bortles, they talked about bringing him along slowly and maybe even sitting him the entire season. But the calls to get Bortles on the field grew with each week -- and each loss. Jacksonville was outscored 105-10 in the eight quarters since leading Philadelphia 17-0 at halftime in the season opener.