Heading into the 2017 season, there was little reason to expect to be anything more than the not-even-close-to-replacement-level quarterback he had shown himself to be during his first three NFL seasons. Seriously, the former third-overall pick was .As a rookie in 2014, Bortles in total value among all quarterbacks, according to Football Outsiders' metrics. He improved to 25th in total value in 2015, when he threw 35 touchdowns along with 18 interceptions and five lost fumbles. And Enrique Hernandez Jersey if last season was among his most disappointing -- Bortles had 23 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and six fumbles and there were constant calls to bench him for -- this season has been an after-school-special-level feel-good story. Not only has Bortles justified the team's decision to pick up his fifth-year option, he's legitimately played like a quarterback worth $19 million next season. That's what he's scheduled to make, and as general manager Dave Caldwell pointed out in the spring, . "I think that slots him as the 16th-highest quarterback next year, right around the median," Caldwell said on PFT Live in May. "If he was to get the franchise tender that puts him at the third- or fourth- or fifth-ranked quarterback depending on who gets new deals next year." Team president Tom Coughlin added: "This is a smart busine s decision for the team for several reasons. It makes sense for us going forward and it's good for Blake and for the ."It's easy to imagine that no one believed either Caldwell or Coughlin at the time because Bortles had been such a disappointment. So what happened over the summer and through the first 14 weeks of the season? How has Bortles gone from one of the NFL's worst pa sers to pretty much what Caldwell described him as: a quarterback making middle-of-the-road money?That's another way of saying replacement level which, it turns out, is exactly what Bortles has been this season, at least statistically. He's currently 19th in total value, ahead of , and , and just behind and . Bortles is completing a career-best 60.2 percent of his throws and has 16 touchdowns to eight interceptions and three fumbles. The difference has been the surrounding cast. Jacksonville averaged 3.7 wins in each of Bortles' first three seasons. Now, thanks to a dominant run game and a suffocating defense -- as well as improved play from Bortles -- the Jaguars are 9-4 and currently the No. 3 seed in the AFC. Things have gotten so out of hand that Bortles Corey Seager Jersey ' teammates have taken to making some lofty comparisons. Rookie running back went so far as to call Bortles a "top-five quarterback," while defensive end took it a few steps further. "These last couple of games he's playing amazing," Campbell said, via ESPN.com. "He looks like these last couple games. I know Tom Brady does it all the time, but these last couple games, Blake was out there leading the team, playing confident and having fun." Cornerback added: "Blake is balling. Kenley Jansen Jersey We know who our quarterback is, and we know what he's been doing, week in and week out, helping us get victories." And wants Bortles in the Pro Bowl: You heard .Get to the RT to vote. #Sacksonville (@Jaguars) That might be a bit much, but Bortles a different player this season. In previous years, when we were talking about his terrible mechanics and elongated throwing motion -- behold this popular tweet from October 2016: Quick comparison of throwing motions, Derek v Blake GipsySafety (@GipsySafety) We're now witne sing Bortles do things normally reserved for the Tom Bradys (there's that name again) and Aaron Rodgerses of the world: Dimes. finds #Sacksonville (@Jaguars) And that wasn't some meaningle s first-quarter completion. Bortles connected with on that 29-yard reception on third-and-3 with seven minutes to go in the game, and just four plays after the scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 27-17. Four plays later, the Jaguars would end up kicking a field goal and hold on for the 30-24 victory. A season ago, Bortles ranked 27th in deep-pa ser QB rating as measured by . led the league with a 136.1 rating on pa ses that traveled more than 20 yards while Bortles clocked in at 17.5. , who ranked 26th, was 46.9. This season, however, Bortles is 15th with an 81.0 rating thanks in large part to throws like the one above -- and to an offensive line that has improved from ninth in pa s protection in 2016 to . And when facing pre sure, Bortles has improved; his pa ser rating when under pre sure in 2016 was 49.7, now it's 70.3.Also helping: Fournette in the backfield David Freese Jersey making Bortles' job immeasurably easier. Helping even more: Jacksonville's second-ranked defense, with three players that have at least four interceptions -- and Jalen Ramsey have four apiece, A.J. Bouye has six. The unit is second in the league with 19 total interceptions and leads the NFL with 47 sacks, including 12.5 from Calais Campbell and 11 more from .Then there's the most overlooked aspect of this team: coach Doug Marrone, who was hired in the offseason after serving as interim coach late in 2016. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora wrote in January that "trying to save Bortles was very much at the core of what led to the decision to ." Put another way: The organization wasn't yet willing to dump Bortles, even if the rest of the football world was.La Canfora continued:"So, yeah, this search was all about finding the right coach, but also the right coach who the Jags believe can instill confidence in Bortles and build him back up and find a way to make him a competent NFL quarterback after a lost 2016. Those motives made it virtually certain that the most coveted offensive minds making the Ross Stripling Jersey rounds on the interview circuit -- Josh McDaniels and Kyle Shanahan -- wouldn't be coming to Jacksonville."At the time it seemed insane. Now, with 11 months of hindsight, it was precisely the right decision for reasons that are bigger than Bortles.The cliche about a team going only as far as their franchise quarterback will take them remains mostly true. But if a general manager can a semble a roster like Caldwell's done in Jacksonville, it certainly mitigates the need for a Hall-of-Famer under center. That said, Bortles has been one of the league's best pa sers in recent weeks. In the last two games, Blake Bortles is 44 of 62 for 577 yards, four touchdowns and no picks. Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) "I felt as though I put our offense in a chance to score points," Bortles said after Sunday's win. "Obviously, not turning the ball over is a big part of that. There will be plays that were bad that we have to get corrected, but there were a lot of plays made out there by the wide receivers, running backs and the offensive line that were pretty awesome."In three months we've skipped right over questions about whether the Jaguars can play winning football -- that's been made crystal clear -- and now we're left wondering if Bortles, the running game and this defense can play winning f