JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The crowd at TIAA Bank Field erupted Sunday afternoon when the Jaguars went back to rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II.
The move came after fans could be heard chanting “Gardner Minshew” in the first half, during which the Jaguars’ offense failed to score.
The first half was rough for fans watching the Jaguars game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the stadium, at home and at sports bars across the city. But the remaining fans at the stadium went wild as Minshew came out on the field to start the second half in place of quarterback Nick Foles.
Minshew Mania was in the air at The Bank as the six-round pick helped lead the Jaguars to a field goal in the third quarter and then a touchdown and two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
Though some Minshew Magic provided a spark for the offense, the Jaguars could not overcome the 25-0 deficit at half and lost 28-11, dropping the team’s record to 4-8.
Sunday was third start for Foles, who was signed in the offseason as the $88 million franchise quarterback, since the former Super Bowl MVP returned from a broken collarbone he suffered in the season opener.
“Both of them are great quarterbacks, that’s all I can say, but he seems to not be doing the job today,” Jaguars fan James Williams said. “I would like to see them take Foles’ $80 million and give it to Minshew.”
The question going forward will be which quarterback starts for Jacksonville next Sunday in the home game against the Los Angeles Chargers. While some fans say that without a strong offensive line, it doesn’t matter which quarterback is on the field, others are calling for a permanent change at quarterback.
“It’s a quarterback issue,” Jaguars fan Chad Shank said. “Take Foles out and put Minshew back in.”