NFL record predictions for the 2018 regular season
By Ian Cummings
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense nearly single-handedly brought the team to the Super Bowl last year, and with the additions of Taven Bryan, Ronnie Harrison, and Quenton Meeks, the unit only got better.
Doug Marrone’s squad exceed expectations in 2017’s NFL, and so it only makes sense that, when the expectations begin to mont in 2018, the Jaguars will undercut them at a modest 10-6. There’s a fairly simple reason for this choice. Yes, the Jaguars have a very, very good defense. But they also have Blake Bortles.
Bortles is an average quarterback. He can win games if everything goes right. But in the NFL, having an average quarterback as your starting quarterback is bad. The Bills witnessed this last year with Tyrod Taylor. And the Vikings knew this was what they had in Case Keenum.
Jacksonville chose to bet on Bortles in 2018, and while it’s impossible not to love the man’s attitude, it’s fair to say that he’s a known quantity at this point. He’s an inconsistent signal caller with a penchant for making bad decisions. No matter how good the Jaguars’ defense is, Blake Bortles will keep them from winning some games. They’ll make the playoffs. But with Bortles at the helm, there’s only so much they can do.