Watch: Gardner Minshew ends season with a strong 3 touchdown performance vs. Colts

With Sunday’s season finale against the Indianapolis Colts possibly being Doug Marrone’s last game, the Jacksonville Jaguars did their best to make a case for the third-year head coach. The Jags’ offense particularly had a strong day in Sunday’s …

With Sunday’s season finale against the Indianapolis Colts possibly being Doug Marrone’s last game, the Jacksonville Jaguars did their best to make a case for the third-year head coach. The Jags’ offense particularly had a strong day in Sunday’s victory over Indy as rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II accumulated just under 300 passing yards and three touchdowns.

His first touchdown pass came in the second quarter to receiver Keelan Cole, who had a strong day and led the team in receiving Sunday. After linking up on an explosive 45-yard reception, the two connected on the touchdown reception for 14 yards on the following play, putting the Jags up 13-10.

Minshew’s next score occurred during the first drive of the third quarter as the offense put together an 11 play drive for 60 yards. To end it, Minshew was able to link up with fellow rookie Ryquell Armstead for a 3-yard score and followed it up with a 2-point conversion to receiver Dede Westbrook. At that point, the Jags went up by a score of 24-20.

Minshew’s last score came in the fourth quarter as the rookie was able to link back up with Westbrook for another score after a fumble recovery by Dawuane Smoot. The reception was good for 18 yards and marked Westbrook’s first score since early December against the Tampa Bay Bucs. As a result of the score, the Jags went up by a score of 38-20 with just under five minutes left in the game.

Minshew’s strong day put him at a 6-6 record as a starter, which is certainly respectable for a sixth-round rookie. He’ll end his 2019 campaign with a 60.6% completion rate (285-of-470) for 3,271 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and six picks. When considering those statistics, the argument could be made that he deserves to be the Jags’ 2020 starter behind center, however, time will tell what direction the Jags go in as the organization has to figure out its general manager and coaching situation.