Jacksonville Jaguars: Gardner Minshew making history

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew is making history through his first three NFL games.

It’s hard not to love Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew, whose great personality and quirks are just as awesome on the NFL stage as they were last year at Washington State when he put together a Heisman campaign and had Mike Leach wearing a fake mustache.

Through their first three weeks of the 2019 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars are a seemingly disappointing 1-2 in the win-loss column, but they are a very optimistic 1-2 considering how well their sixth-round rookie out of Washington State has played following Nick Foles’ injury in the season-opener.

Minshew has not just held down the fort, either. He’s played at an historic level in his first three NFL games.

According to NFL Research, it’s the best three-game start for a young quarterback in league history.

Before anyone tries to poo-poo these numbers, the answer is no, Minshew is not being limited to just a handful of throws each game. He’s thrown 88 passes (7th-most) through three games with just two starts, including 30 pass attempts against the Tennessee Titans in his first career win.

Minshew was out there dropping dimes, just like he was last year at Washington State.

The Jaguars were able to win this game despite an awful rushing performance, save for a 69-yard run by Leonard Fournette that gave him 66 yards rushing for the game.

No, that’s not a joke, nor is it written incorrectly.

Minshew has provided the Jaguars with a much-needed spark. He never needed to be perfect and I think expectations from pretty much everyone were low considering he was a sixth-round pick for the team, but he’s done a great job of working in John DeFilippo’s offense and getting himself ready each week.

He’s reading coverages, making great throws downfield, putting plenty of zip on the ball, and making the right decisions.

All of that has led him to where we are today, where Minshew is one of the most accurate and productive quarterbacks through his first three games in league history.