Jaguars Undecided on Starting QB For Week 17 Finale Vs. Colts

The Jacksonville Jaguars held an unorthodox one-week competition to see whether Mike Glennon or Gardner Minshew would start at quarterback in Week 16. But after another blowout loss, the coaching staff is still waiting to make their decision.

"We just obviously as coaches finished up the game, finished up the grading. We haven’t really talked about it. I’m still waiting for the final injury reports to come in, so I haven’t gotten together with [Offensive Coordinator] Jay [Gruden] or [Quarterbacks Coach] Ben [McAdoo] to talk about how we’re going to go forward," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said on Monday.

"Obviously, that’s something that we normally do in the afternoon, so I think we’ll go this afternoon [and] we’ll discuss it and then make the best decision for the team."

Marrone and his staff made the decision to start Glennon against the Chicago Bears in Week 16, giving the eighth-year veteran his fourth start of the season despite benching him for Minshew in Week 14.

But the move to Glennon clearly didn't pay off for the Jaguars. They lost 41-17 in one of their worst losses of the season and scored just seven points in the second half, converting zero third quarter first downs.

Glennon completed 24 of 37 passes (64.86%) for 211 yards (5.7 yards per attempt), while throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions. This gave him a passer rating of 75.4 but and adjusted yards per attempt of 4.35.

According to rbsdm.com, Glennon had the fifth-lowest EPA per play of all starting quarterbacks before Monday Night Football. By all accounts, it was another rough performance for the offense, even if Glennon had two solid touchdown passes.

Marrone acknowledged after the game that he was thinking about benching Glennon for Minshew (for the second time in three games), but he ultimately decided against putting Minshew on the field in another blowout in which he would be put in a bad situation.

"Once it was out of it, was there a point where I’m like should I put Gardner [Minshew II] in there? I was thinking about it, but there wasn’t enough possessions and I don’t want to put him in there in that type of situation," Marrone said following the game.

Jacksonville (1-14) is in the middle of the longest losing streak in franchise history, losing every single game since Week 1. The lack of strong play from the quarterback position, as well as the constant shuffling of the starting quarterback, has arguably been the biggest factor.

Three different quarterbacks have started for the Jaguars this season, though it has come in five different segments.

Gardner Minshew: Weeks 1-7
Jake Luton: Weeks 9-11
Mike Glennon: Weeks 12-14
Gardner Minshew: Week 15
Mike Glennon: Week 16

"It’s been tough. I think we all know that. I think it’s been tough," Marrone said on Monday when asked about the quarterback position in 2020.

"It’s not necessarily from the people you’re dealing with, the players themselves. All the players have been great. They’re trying, they’re doing their best, and we’re trying to do our best to put them in that position. It’s just been tough when you don’t get that production out of that position. There’s been a lot of things that go into it but obviously I haven’t really had an opportunity to really have someone in that position that can really get a lot of things done. That’s not the players’ fault.”

Jacksonville is scheduled to close its season on the road against the Colts, a 4:25 p.m. kickoff.

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