JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Blake Bortles with the third pick in the draft last May, they were adamant that they didn’t plan to open the season with him as the starting quarterback.

They already re-signed veteran Chad Henne to open the season. They figured Bortles wasn’t ready to play right away.

However, when they were trailing 30-0 at halftime of the third game against the Indianapolis Colts after losing the first two to the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins by margins of 34-17 and 41-10, respectively, the Jaguars figured they had to go to Bortles.

And he proved them right. He is not ready to play and is going through the growing pains typical for a rookie quarterback.

Bortles started the past five games, playing 22 quarters. He threw 12 interceptions, and four of them were returned for touchdowns.

Two of the pick-sixes came in a 27-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday as the Jags dropped to 1-7. Bortles also lost a fumble when he failed to slide. The three turnovers led to 17 points.

The unfortunate part is that the defense and running game are now much more effective than they were when Henne was playing. The defense gave up only three touchdowns in the past four games but won just one of them.

Henne threw only one interception in the 10 quarters he played. With the defense and running game is their current — running back Denard Robinson rushed for more than 100 yards each of the past two games — the Jaguars probably would have a better chance of winning some games with the veteran at quarterback.

However, there is no thought of going back to Henne. The rest of this season is about preparing to play Bortles in the future. The bottom line is that Jacksonville probably won’t match last year’s 4-12 mark.

The Jaguars don’t play another home game another Nov. 30, when they host the New York Giants. In the next month, they travel to face the Cincinnati Bengals, go to London to play the Dallas Cowboys, have a bye week and then play the Colts in Indianapolis.

The odds are that they will be 1-10 going into the last five games — two against the Houston Texans and one each against the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens.

The rest of this season isn’t about wins and losses. It is about getting Bortles to learn from his mistakes and avoid matching Peyton Manning’s rookie record of throwing 28 interceptions.

Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch said he hopes that Bortles will throw only six interceptions in the last eight games. That would be a step in the right direction.

The Jaguars are still high on Bortles’ long-term future. They like his ability to stay in the pocket and his leadership skills. When he plays as poorly as he did against Miami, he takes all the blame.

“I’m killing us,” he said. “I’ve got to try and eliminate (mistakes) and get better.”

Nobody doubts that he is killing them now. But this is all about the future.

The Jaguars still like their future with Bortles.

NOTES: Defensive back Will Blackmon (fractured left index finger) will miss an extended amount of time. … Cornerback Alan Ball, who missed the Miami game due to a biceps injury, will be evaluated Wednesday. … Left tackle Luke Joeckel (concussion) will go through league protocol . … Tight end Marcedes Lewis (recallable IR — ankle) can resume practicing Wednesday but can’t play until after the bye week.

REPORT CARD VS. DOLPHINS

–PASSING OFFENSE: F — QB Blake Bortles threw two pick-sixes and lost a fumble when he scrambled and didn’t slide. In five games, he has thrown 12 interceptions, including and four of them were returned for touchdowns.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: B-plus — RB Denard Robinson gained 108 yards, going over the 100-yard mark for the second game in a row. However, he got only seven carries in the second half after producing 90 yards on 11 attempts in the first half. The Jaguars abandoned the run too quickly when they fell behind.

–PASS DEFENSE: B plus — QB Ryan Tannehill completed only five of 12 passes in the first half and finished with 196 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Jaguars put pressure on him and sacked him three times.

–RUN DEFENSE: B — RB Lamar Miller carried only twice for 8 yards in the first half. He finished with 78 yards on 14 carries, mainly because he broke a 30-yard run in the second half.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: F — The field-goal team is a mess. PK Josh Scobee had one blocked, had a 45-yard miss wiped out by a Miami penalty and made a 46-yarder that was wiped out by a Jacksonville penalty. Ace Sanders returned five punts for 28 yards, a 5.6-yard average.

–COACHING: D — The Jaguars abandoned the run too quickly in the second half and let Bortles throw from his own 7-yard line on their first offensive play of the third period even though Robinson ran effectively in the first half. Bortles then threw a pick-six on what should have been a running play.