JACKSONVILLE — And suddenly there is hope for the future after all. Maybe even this year.

That was the feeling Jacksonville Jaguars fans had coming out of Sunday’s 33-14 loss in San Diego. Normally a 19-point loss doesn’t give a team much hope for the future. But the Jaguars are no normal team. Truth of the matter is they are much less than normal. They are one of two (Oakland) winless teams left in the NFL after four weeks, they rank dead last in points allowed and are next to last (Oakland of course) in points scored per game.

But enough of the negatives. Is there really hope for the future? There is when you consider:

–The Jaguars were down by just three points (17-14) at the half to the Chargers. After its first possession of the second resulted in a touchdown, San Diego only managed three field goals the rest of the game.

–The 19-point loss was the lowest differential by the Jaguars in the first four games.

–They have faced, arguably, the NFL’s top two passers currently in Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck and San Diego’s Philip Rivers the last two weeks.

–Of the Jaguars’ first four opponents, only one (Washington) has a losing record after four weeks. None of Jacksonville’s next four opponents currently have a winning record.

The reality is, however, a loss is a loss is a loss is another loss. For the second year in a row, the Jaguars are winless after four games. And while this year’s team has scored 27 more points than what the 2013 team did after four games, it’s also given up 23 more points than it had at this point a year ago.

But perhaps the most optimistic cause for such future optimism is the play of quarterback Blake Bortles. The rookie quarterback completed 29-of-37 passes (exact same numbers as Rivers). The differences come after that with Rivers holding an edge in yards (377-253), touchdowns (3 to 1) and interceptions (none to 2). Attribute the discrepancy in the last three categories to receivers. While Rivers consistently threw medium range to long routes to wide-open receivers, Bortles had to be pinpoint accurate just to complete short tosses to his receivers, who were usually well-covered by Chargers defenders.

San Diego’s top three wide receivers and tight end have a combined 26 years of NFL experience. The Jaguars’ same foursome have a combined seven years experience prior to the 2014 season.

Add in a rookie quarterback and an offensive line that starts two rookies and a second-year player who missed all but five games last year, it’s easy to see why there are going to be plenty of growing pains for Jacksonville this year. But such frustrations one season can turn into winning moments in future years. That’s what the Jaguars’ top brass and coaching staff are counting on. It will take a good amount of patience. That, however, is something local fans don’t always possess. They may be optimistic about the future; it’s just that they want the future to be the present.

One thing that will help Bortles is a healthy Cecil Shorts. He went to the sideline in Sunday’s game against San Diego with another left hamstring injury. It marked the fourth time since June that the team’s leading receiver from a year ago had been slowed with an injury. He missed the last couple weeks of offseason workouts with a calf injury. He was then out nearly three weeks during training camp with a right hamstring injury. He came back but missed the first two regular-season games with an injury to his left hamstring.

Sunday’s injury came one play earlier when Shorts waited on a pass from Bortles, only to have Chargers cornerback Brandon Flowers step in front of him and make an interception.

“I felt a pull,” said Shorts, whose contract expires at the end of this season. “It actually happened on the play before (the interception). I was running when (a Chargers defender) grabbed me and I felt something pull.”

After undergoing diagnostic testing on Monday, Shorts’ injury was diagnosed as a muscle strain near the hamstring area.

“It’s frustrating,” coach Gus Bradley said. “No one wants it more than Cecil. In his mind, he can’t catch a break. He did some good things and wants it so badly. Sometimes when you work there are going to be disappointments. He has another disappointment and it hurts our team. We just have to figure out why these things occur and if it’s anything that’s under our control, we have to find out what it is.”

REPORT CARD VS. CHARGERS

PASSING OFFENSE: B-minus — As close to a full-game success story that the Jaguars have registered thus far. When Blake Bortles has the time, he’ll either be on target or close enough, if the receivers help him out. The offensive line showed a marked improvement from their effort the past couple of weeks, only allowing three sacks. Clay Harbor gave the tight-end spot an added boost in his first appearance of the year, catching all eight passes that were sent his way. Bortles had two more interceptions, giving him four in the last six quarters. He’ll need to improve on that figure.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus — When your quarterback has the best yards-per-attempt rushing average, it’s an indication the rest of the backfield is not doing their job. Bortles’ 4.8 mark exceeded that of starting running back Toby Gerhart and two backups. The 85 yards on 25 carries is not what the Jaguars are looking for, especially in trying to take some of the pressure off Bortles to have to throw the ball so much. Of special consternation is the Jaguars’ inability to convert on short-yardage situations. Failing to convert on a pair of 4th-and-1 plays ended potential scoring marches prematurely.

PASS DEFENSE: F — Opposing quarterbacks are having a field day at the expense of the Jaguars secondary. For the third time in four games this season, Jacksonville gave up over 320 passing yards. The Jaguars’ best effort in this department was the 288 yards in the air that Washington accumulated. The Jaguars have now given up 11 touchdowns via the pass. Changing personnel didn’t make a difference. Now there will likely need to be another change in the secondary as Dwayne Gratz left the game with a concussion, one that is likely to leave him sidelined for Sunday’s Pittsburgh game.

RUSH DEFENSE: A — If the Jaguars could ever stop the pass like they did the run against the Chargers, it would likely result in a W in the win-loss column. Allowing San Diego just 42 yards on the ground in 20 attempts was easily the defense’s best effort of the season. Neither running back could average three yards a carry. The problem was that San Diego soon realized it wasn’t going to run on the Jaguars’ defensive line and that putting the ball in the air would be its best option. That proved to be the case as San Diego averaged 8.9 yards each passing play compared to 2.1 for each running attempt.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A-minus — Hard to find fault with anything the Jaguars did regarding special teams. Jordan Todman was impressive with six kickoff returns for a 29.0-yard average. On the other side, two of Josh Scobee’s kickoffs were touchbacks and the third was a 22-yard return. Bryan Anger was only called on to punt twice and he responded with a 64-yarder and 48-yarder with only one returned for two yards. Had the Jaguars offense crossed midfield as many times as San Diego, Scobee might have matched the four field goals that his counterpart, Nick Novak, had.

COACHING: B — An A for the first-half effort dropped to a C for the final two quarters to give Gus Bradley and his staff a B grade. It marked the third time in the four games this season that the Jaguars were badly outplayed in the second half. In games against Philadelphia, Washington and San Diego, the Jaguars were outscored 70-3. Only in the Indianapolis game, where after running up a 30-0 halftime lead, the Colts eased up and with the Jaguars inserting Bortles at quarterback, did Jacksonville enjoy a 17-14 second-half advantage. Bradley and his staff are not making the right adjustments at halftime to keep up with the opposition.