The Sports Xchange

JACKSONVILLE — The Jacksonville Jaguars were favored by one point over Houston last Sunday and it was only the second time in the last four years that they were favored.

After a 31-20 loss to the Texans that dropped them to 1-5, tying them for the worst record in the league, they are back to underdog status against the 3-3 Bills, who are a four-point choice.

If the Jaguars lose, they will be off to a 1-6 start for the second year in a row.

That would start a lot of speculation that head coach Gus Bradley’s job could be in trouble because the Dolphins fired Joe Philbin after their loss in London to the Jets during their bye week.

But all indications are that there is no chance that Khan will fire Bradley during the season and he will likely return for a fourth season next year unless the Jaguars totally collapse.

The key for the Jaguars is that second-year quarterback Blake Bortles has to play better than he did against Houston when he threw three interceptions, including a pick-six. He has now thrown six pick-sixes in just 19 starts.

He did make some good throws and they put too much of a burden on him by having him throw 53 times because they couldn’t run the ball. He completed 30 for 331 yards and three touchdowns, giving him seven touchdown passes in the last two games. But he makes too many mistakes.

And when Bradley was asked if Bortles is as good as he thinks he is, he said, “I respect the question, but no, I’m not concerned. I think he’ll continue to grow and continue to improve.”

The other key question is whether they can get the running game going against Buffalo, which is fifth against the run but 22nd against the pass and 17th overall.

They ran for only 83 yards against the Bills with rookie starter T.J. Yeldon out with a groin injury and Bortles got 37 of those yards on four scrambles. Toby Gerhart had just 26 yards in nine carries and Denard Robinson, returning after missing three games with a knee injury, had just 19 yards in seven carries.

If the Bills can stop the Jaguars running game, they can make them one dimensional and attempt to take advantage of Bortles’ mistakes.

REPORT CARD VS. TEXANS

–PASSING OFFENSE: C. Blake Bortles continues to be inconsistent. He puts up some good numbers and passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns against Houston, but threw three picks, including a pick-six.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: F. With rookie T.J. Yeldon sidelined with a groin injury, the running game never got started. They had 83 yards, but 37 of them came on four scrambles by Bortles. Toby Gerhart started and gained 26 yards on nine carries and Denard Robinson, after missing the last three games with a knee injury, had 19 yards on seven carries.

–PASS DEFENSE: D. Brian Hoyer threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns and no picks and DeAndre Hopkins was contained for three quarters by Davon House, but finally got rolling in the fourth quarter when he caught two touchdown passes and finished with 10 catches for 148 yards. The Jaguars didn’t put enough pressure on Hoyer and sacked him only once. The Jaguars held Hoyer to two field goals when they beat him when he was in Houston, but he picked them apart this time.

–RUN DEFENSE: C. Arian Foster managed just 53 yards on 18 carries, but he got some big yards when they needed them and Chris Polk chipped in with 37 yards on eight carries. They ran just enough – 31 carries – so the Jaguars couldn’t tee off on the pass rush.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: D. Young kicker Jason Myers missed an extra point and had an onside kick recovered by the Jaguars, but it was nullified because Allen Hurns was offside. The Jaguars had just one punt return for seven yards although Brian Walters returned three kickoffs for an average of 26.3 yards. The Jaguars downed a Bryan Anger punt on the 1-yard line only to have Houston march 99 yards for a touchdown.

–COACHING: F. Gus Bradley is fortunate he has job security because owner Shad Khan still thinks he has the team improving. Still, he has now lost to a team with one win three weeks in a row. Those teams were quarterbacked by aging Matt Hasselbeck, young Jameis Winston and journeyman Brian Hoyer. Bradley seems to have no answers for a team that can’t generate a pass rush even though he is a defensive coach. Bradley’s philosophy is not to blitz, but they can’t get a rush from their Leo position. Bradley is 1-5 this year and 8-30 although one of his problems is that general manager Dave Caldwell’s personnel decisions have been shaky.