In the past decade, NFL offenses have evolved into a football version of the Wild, Wild West. And no young quarterback may epitomize the modern gunslinger more than the Jaguars’ Blake Bortles.
Not since Dan Marino in 1984 has any quarterback made such a prolific jump in touchdown passes from his rookie season to the second year. Through 13 starts (the same as last year), Bortles has 30 TDs after throwing just 11 as a rookie. In 1984, Marino ballooned from 20 to 48, which many consider the standard-bearer passing season because NFL rules didn’t favor quarterbacks as much as today.