FLOWERY BRANCH – Jacksonville is coming off what they hope was a breakthrough victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
The Jaguars scored on offense, defense and special teams in a 51-16 thrashing of the Colts. Third-year quarterback Blake Bortles, who had three touchdown passes, is making strides.
The Jaguars (5-8) are set to host the Falcons (6-7) at 1 p.m. Sunday at EverBank Field in Jacksonville.
“I do know that Bortles is hitting a streak in terms of touchdown passes,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “He’s absolutely ripping it.”
Bortles led the rout of the Colts as he completed 16 of 30 passes for 250 yards and tossed three touchdown passes. Bortles has eight touchdown passes in the past two weeks and set a franchise record by throwing 10 over a three-game span.
The Jaguars received a defensive touchdown from defensive end Andre Branch, who scored on a 49-yard fumble return and rookie wide receiver Rashad Greene returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown.
Bortles has completed 288 of 501 passes (57.5 percent) for 3,013 yards and has a passer rating of 88.4. He’s thrown 30 touchdown passes to 13 interceptions.
Allen Robinson is Bortles’ top receiver with 66 catches for 1,084 yards and 12 touchdowns.
He also has Allen Hurns, who has 51 catches for 863 yards and eight touchdowns and tight end Julio Thomas, who has 36 catches for 352 yards and five touchdowns.
Former Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon has provided the Jaguars with a solid rushing attack, but he was injured against the Colts and Denard Robinson took over.
Former Georgia and Auburn standout Nick Marshall appears to have found a home in Jacksonville’s secondary. He played nickel back against the Colts over veterans Dwayne Gratz and Demetrius McCray. Marshall allowed a 57-yard pass to Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, but settled down and made some progress.
“He showed up in practice,” Jacksonville coach Gus Bradley said. “We got him involved getting more reps with the first group last week and one-on-one sessions. We just felt he deserved that opportunity.”
Bradley was not sure if the move was permanent, but Marshall did enough to earn another chance.
Starting middle linebacker Paul Posluszny missed last week’s game with a hand injury. Second-year man Jordan Tripp made his first NFL start and had four tackles.
While both teams appear headed in different directions, neither Jacksonville nor Atlanta has a victory over a team with a winning record.
Jacksonville has wins over Miami (5-8), Buffalo (6-7), Baltimore (4-9), Tennessee (3-10) and Indianapolis (6-7).
The Falcons have wins over Philadelphia (6-7), New York Giants (6-7), Dallas (4-9), Houston (6-7), Washington (6-7) and Tennessee (3-10).
Quinn and Jacksonville coach Gus Bradley worked together in Seattle in 2009-10.
“What I can say about Gus is (he’s) one the most passionate guys about ball that you’ll find,” Quinn said. “He’s a really unique teacher. He’s always finding ways to reach guys and find an edge. He’s an A-plus of a guy as well.”
This will be the Falcons’ sixth regular-season meeting with Jacksonville. The Jaguars hold a 3-2 advantage. The Falcons won the last meeting, 41-14 on Dec. 15, 2011 at the Georgia Dome. The Jaguars won the last meeting in Jacksonville, 13-7, on Sept. 9, 2007.
The Falcons, who have dropped six straight, are hoping to rebound from a 38-0 loss to Carolina.
“This was the first time that we got our tails kicked in,” Quinn said. “Give them credit for that. I thought the missed opportunities and us not playing like we are capable of, those are some of things that led to why that happened.”
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