Gardner Minshew: We made too many mistakes

[Jaxson De Ville]

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Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew played well enough in the first two games of the season to make a case that he’s the franchise’s long-term quarterback, and not just a placeholder for whoever they draft in 2021. On Thursday night, he struggled.

Minshew threw an interception, lost a fumble, took four sacks and generally did not look like a franchise quarterback in a 31-13 loss to the Dolphins.

“We had too many mistakes tonight – that’s just plain and simple,” Minshew said.

Minshew particularly struggled on third downs (on which the Jaguars’ offense converted just three in 10 attempts) and fourth downs (on which the Jaguars were 0-for-3). In the first two weeks, Minshew’s success on later downs obscured some poor plays on first and second downs. That’s usually not sustainable over the long term, however, and on Thursday night, the Jaguars looked like the rebuilding team everyone expected them to be.