The Jaguars had no choice but to turn to sixth-round rookie Gardner Minshew — he was the only other quarterback on the roster after Nick Foles was injured.
But for the moment, he looks like a good choice.
Minshew was more than solid in relief in the Jaguars’ loss to the Chiefs. He completed his first 13 passes, broke the franchise’s record for completion percentage, and kept them competitive after the loss of their biggest offseason acquisition.
“I’m not happy with the circumstances,” Minshew said, via Garry Smits of the Florida Times-Union. “It breaks my heart to see what happened to Nick because he’s been one of the best people I’ve ever played with and had the pleasure to be around. But I know he’s going to be there with me and we’re going to have this team where we need to go.”
Foles is out indefinitely with a broken collarbone, but Minshew created the same kind of confidence in his teammates for walking into an adverse situation and playing well.
“Fearless ... fearless,” wide receiver D.J. Chark said. “He went in and did his thing. We were upset Nick was out but there was never a point when we said, ‘dang ... now we have to go with Gardner.’ We knew we had to elevate our play and make him feel comfortable and he made us feel comfortable.”
It was a better performance than anything Minshew put forth in the preseason, and it’s going to have to be even better as they go on.
