Each NFL team’s biggest reason to be excited in 2018

Jacksonville Jaguars – A better Bortles?

On the back of an elite defense and a solid running game, the Jacksonville Jaguars won a division title and made it the AFC Championship Game with Blake Bortles as a passenger. But he was solid in the playoffs, particularly in terms of turnovers (zero) and had more passing yards than Tom Brady (293 vs. 290) in the conference title game.

The Jaguars signed Bortles to a three-year deal this offseason, so he’s the guy under center going forward until further notice. He said he feels more comfortable this year, after learning a new offense last year, and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett suggested that comfort level could lead to a loosening of the reigns in terms of downfield passing this year.

Bortles had surgery on his right wrist in January, and he recently said he’s without pain in that wrist for the first time since 2016. That stands to lead to better accuracy, and a cleaner spiral for receivers to catch.

Jacksonville’s winning formula was made clear in 2017, which is to say less Bortles (over 100 fewer pass attempts compared to 2016) is more. But a nice run late last year (300-plus passing  yards in three of four games from Week 13-Week 16), without a great increase in pass volume (35 or fewer attempts in each of the first three) is a promising proposition looking ahead to a new season.

The Jaguars have Super Bowl aspirations this year. If they get back to the conference title game in January and finish the job this time, it may be because Bortles played well all season and performed well again on that stage. If that’s not a reason to be excited in Jacksonville, I don’t know what is.