The Jaguars ran 10 more plays, gained 30 more yards, had just as many first downs and dominated the time of possession against the Patriots on Sunday. But what they didn't do was play 60 minutes of football. And as everyone knows by now, you're not beating Tom Brady -- bum hand or otherwise -- without playing 60 minutes of football.

For nearly 50 minutes, the Jaguars executed their game plan flawlessly: lean on Leonard Fournette, take advantage of play-action opportunities, and let the league's best defense harass the 41-year-old Patriots quarterback. This last point was reaffirmed with 11:35 to go in the game when Marcell Dareus sacked Brady in what seemed to be a drive-killing play. The Jaguars led 20-10 and they were about to get the ball back.

Except that two plays later, facing third-and-18, Brady did what Brady does.

And four plays later, he found Danny Amendola in the end zone. Jaguars led 20-17.

Two series later, the inevitable happened; Brady made a throw only Brady would make in that situation, and the Football Gods deemed it was Amendola's time to perform a miracle.

Patriots led 24-20.

At this point, we're all probably thinking the same thing: Thanks for coming, Jacksonville. You had a great season, but you are not equipped to overcome this. You're a decade removed from your last playoff appearance, and your quarterback had been so bad in recent seasons that there was a serious call early in the season to bench him for Chad Henne.

But Blake Bortles wasn't the reason the Jaguars lost on Sunday. Not even close, it turns out. Yes, that final, fateful drive lasted just six plays and included two incompletions and the cursory James Harrison strip-sack (you knew that was coming), but it also included what could have been not only a game-defining play, but a career-defining moment for Bortles. On the second play of the drive, Bortles calmly dropped back, glanced right and then came back to this left to hit Dede Westbrook for a 29-yard gain.

It showed both poise and accuracy under pressure -- two of the biggest criticisms of Bortles' career -- but what happens if Westbrook doesn't fall down? There's a chance he pulls a Stefon Diggs and takes it to the house. That one play very well could be why we're spending our morning talking up all the Jags' shortcoming while lauding the Patriots for another near-perfect finish. Reality is much messier than that; Westbrook fell down, Amendola got two feet down. If Westbrook stays on his feet and Amendola gets pushed out of the back of the end zone, we're now talking about how the Jaguars are the new bullies in the AFC and perhaps it's time to put the Patriots out to pasture for good.

Instead, four plays after Westbrook slipped, Stephon Gilmore officially ended the Jaguars' season in dramatic fashion:

Bortles, who was understandably emotional after the game, has been a lightning rod of criticism during his four NFL seasons. But 2017 was his best year as a professional. And he saved his best for Foxoborough, going 23 of 36 for 293 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers. In fact, Bortles didn't have a single turnover in three postseason games.

Ideally, the Jaguars would have been able to run the ball more effectively in the second half, taking some of the burden off Bortles, but the Patriots knew this, made adjustments at halftime, and shut down Fournette over the final 30 minutes. Bortles was tasked with winning the game with his arm, something he very nearly did, but like so many other quarterbacks who have come to Foxborough in similar situations, he went home a loser.

There is no shame in that, but the Jaguars now have to decide whether to go forward with Bortles. Last offseason, the team picked up his fifth-year option, and that means he's under contract in 2018 for $19.1 million. Bortles' base salary becomes guaranteed on March 14 if he's still on the roster, though the team could certainly decide to look elsewhere for a quarterback. But here's the thing: In franchise-quarterback terms, $19.1 million is the going rate for a replacement-level passer. General manager Dave Caldwell conceded as much last spring when the Jags decided to pick up Bortles' fifth-year option.

"I think that slots him as the 16th-highest quarterback next year, right around the median," Caldwell told PFT Live at the time. "If he was to get the franchise tender, that puts him at the third- or fourth- or fifth-ranked quarterback depending on who gets new deals next year."

In terms of cap hits, Bortles' $19.1 million is exactly 15th among all quarterbacks, just behind Ryan Tannehill and a head of Tyrod Taylor and Andy Dalton. Worth noting: Tannehill led the Dolphins to the playoffs in 2016 (before he suffered a season-ending injury in December), and Taylor did the same with the Bills this season. And Dalton took the Bengals to five straight playoff appearances in his first five seasons, though in the spirit of mediocrity never won in the postseason.

So perhaps it makes sense to stick with Bortles in 2018, not only because he's a relative bargain, but because he showed signs of real progress in Nathaniel Hackett's offense. The expectation is that he should only get better.

"We've had some ups and downs, we've had some good stats, some bad stats, some good wins, some really bad losses," Hackett said last week, via FirstCoastNews.com. "It's been one of those things, he's awesome and I'm really lucky to coach him."

Bortles feels the same way about his offensive coordinator.

"It is pretty awesome," the quarterback said. "To spend two years or whatever as a quarterback coach and then for him to take over as the offensive coordinator, that relationship only continues to grow each and every day. He has been awesome to me. I love coming into work each and every day. Me and him, along with some other guys, kind of collaborate on different things. It is a lot of fun working with him."

Just as important: Bortles has the full support of his teammates, which has to be a consideration when discussing his future.

The most likely option would be to have Bortles under center next season, and if the Jaguars aren't sold on him long term, they could draft his replacement this spring. Alternatively, if they think Bortles will continue to grow, the team could offer him a multi-year deal that will most likely pay him middle-of-the-road quarterback money, which certainly seems reasonable.

The Jags could also decide to look to free agency for the quarterback, but of the top choices, Drew Brees appears to want to stay in New Orleans, Jimmy Garoppolo isn't getting out of San Francisco, and even if Kirk Cousins escapes Washington, is paying him $8 million more than Bortles per year worth it in terms of wins? After that, there's Case Keenum, A.J. McCarron, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford. Keenum will probably get the franchise tag, McCarron is unproven and Bridgewater and Bradford have injury concerns.

There has also been talk of trading for Alex Smith should the Chiefs be willing to ship him out of Kansas City. Smith's cap hit for '18 is $20.6 million. He was ninth in total value among all quarterbacks in 2017, according to Football Outsiders' metrics, six spots ahead of Bortles. Smith will also be 34 in May. Bortles will be 26 in April.

Smith would be an expensive short-term solution, and he wouldn't guarantee any more success than what the Jags got from Bortles this season. Put another way: Bortles is not only Jacksonville's best option, but his contract is commensurate with his production. It makes too much sense not to happen.

In fact, the Jags could use any of the millions they would spend on another quarterback to beef up other roster spots. Allen Robinson, who was lost for the season to injury, will be a free agent. And so too will Marqise Lee. The emergence of rookies Keelan Cole and Dede Westbrook could impact the decision to pay Robinson or Lee, though an offense so reliant on the run can never have too many downfield playmakers.

The Jaguars could also look to the draft to upgrade its pass catchers -- or as CBSSports.com's Chris Trapasso writes in his latest mock draft, the offense line, the perceived weakest unit on this team. (That's also the unit that dominated the Steelers in the divisional round and bullied the Patriots' front seven in the first half on Sunday.) Trapasso has the Jags taking UTEP guard Will Hernandez.

Defensively, little will change. Veteran linebacker Paul Posluszny could chose to retire, but this unit remains, young, fast and explosive. And now it has playoff experience. The Jaguars, through a series of strong drafts, have gone from perennial  laughingstocks to a legit AFC powerhouse. And if Bortles continues to improve, that won't be changing anytime soon.