Blake Bortles might not be the NFL’s best quarterback, but he’s no longer the worst.
In Trent Dilfer’s opinion, at least.
Bortles had just one more win in his first three seasons Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterback than he did in the 2017 regular season alone, so when Dilfer took aim at the 25-year-old and called him “the worst quarterback in the NFL” in late December 2016, it was not entirely unfounded.
“I would not want to coach Blake Bortles and I would not want to coach in Jacksonville,” Dilfer added in the interview on WEEI’s Dale and Holley, as transcribed by Jacksonville.com. “He’s just not a great passer. I think he’s a great athlete, I think he’s a tough kid, but I think he makes panic decisions and is a terrible passer.”
The comments came in the midst of a diatribe about Jacksonville being an awful football market, so it sounded then like Bortles ended up being on the receiving end of a rant that tied into a much bigger picture.
But with Bortles now leading the 10-6 Jags to the AFC Championship Game, Dilfer since has changed his tune, and he articulated that to Bortles.
Bortles will have another chance to silence the critics Sunday upon taking on the New England Patriots.
The Patriots — and quarterback Tom Brady — also have been on the receiving end of some harsh (and ultimately incorrect) criticism from Dilfer. In 2014, Dilfer claimed New England no longer was a “good” team after a 41-14 Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Patriots, of course, made him eat his words and won the Super Bowl that season.
