National Football League

Decision to open up offense pays off in Jaguars' second win of the season

Published Dec. 1, 2014 5:00 p.m. ET

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- At halftime Sunday, the Jacksonville Jaguars trailed the New York Giants 21-3 and Blake Bortles had a rushing play that covered more yards than his longest completion.

They didn't completely throw caution to the wind in a second half where two of their three touchdowns were scored by the defense. Nor did they make Bortles throw the ball to the point of excluding the running game.

But after six consecutive quarters of failing to reach the end zone, there was a different look to what the Jaguars did. And though there were more than a few setbacks -- for instance, the four times Bortles was sacked in the third quarter alone -- different turned out to be better.

"I give credit to the offensive staff," coach Gus Bradley said Monday in reviewing the Jaguars' 25-24 victory over the Giants. "There's no doubt looking at in the past couple of games, there were not the points that we want to score. But I think you saw some creative things (Sunday), some wildcat, some different formations, trying to utilize our talent."

That was most evident on the offense's one touchdown drive. Denard Robinson, the former college quarterback who has become the Jaguars' primary running back in his second season, took a direct snap on successive plays and picked up a total of 21 yards. Bortles followed that with a 9-yard gain on a read option -- a play that would come into greater use later on -- and then hustled the Jaguars to the line without a huddle for an odd-looking formation where rookie wide receiver Marqise Lee was matched up one-on-one against Giants cornerback Zack Bowman.

Bortles hit Lee in stride for a 30-yard score, the first in the career of the second-round draft pick who caught 29 touchdowns during his three years at USC.

"We're always a team that's going to look to be aggressive and be bold and be open-minded to it, as long as it doesn't take away from base fundamentals," Bradley said.

But a week earlier at Indianapolis, the Jaguars played it close to the vest after recovering a fumble deep in Colts territory in the first quarter and came away with a field goal rather than a touchdown. In the fourth quarter against the Giants, the Jaguars had consecutive three-and-outs and didn't get the ball again until they had fallen behind with 3:26 remaining.

That was when Bortles, who has completed more than 70 percent of his passes in the fourth quarter this season, showed the same type of poise he did as a junior at UCF a year ago, when the Knights went 12-1 and earned a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

"You could just see him wanting to take over the game and his mentality," Bradley said. "He didn't slide. When we needed a couple extra yards, he went for it."

While Bortles went 4 of 5 on the game-winning drive, with his first completion being a 22-yarder to Lee on a slant pattern, his biggest contribution came on the ground rather than through the air. The Jaguars were facing second down and 15 yards to go following a holding penalty on tackle Luke Joeckel. Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch chose to have Bortles run another read option, and the play resulted in a 20-yard gain to put the Jaguars in field-goal range.

Josh Scobee delivered on a 43-yard kick three plays later, and the Jaguars had their second victory of the season.

"You would normally think Jedd Fisch would pass then," Bradley said. "And I think it's a credit to him to go in there and say, 'All right, let's run the zone read. They're thinking pass.' "

Bortles still leads the NFL in interceptions with 15, but the win over the Giants was his first turnover-free game. His fourth-quarter passer rating of 88.4 is equal to that of Russell Wilson, the quarterback of the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

The Jaguars played the entire second half without right tackle Austin Pasztor and learned Monday he will likely miss the final four games with a ruptured hamstring. Bradley said he will decide later in the week whether to have Sam Young, who has been inactive for the last seven games, or Josh Wells start in Pasztor's spot Sunday when J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans come to town.

Though the Jaguars continue to rank near the bottom of the league in both total offense and total defense, the defense held the Giants to 75 yards in the second half and accounted for touchdowns on two of its three fumble recoveries.

"I know we got punched in the face a little bit in that first half," Bradley said. "But I believe when you watch the defense, it was extremely, extremely physical in the second half -- big hits, a lot of big plays, guys having the mindset of going for the ball."

You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.

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