JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew II has been named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for his performance in September, the league announced today.
Minshew took over for injured QB Nick Foles in the first quarter of Week 1 against Kansas City and, during the month of September, completed 84 of 121 passes (69.4 completion pct.) for 905 yards, seven TDs and one INT for a passer rating of 106.9. His 69.4 completion percentage and 106.9 passer rating are both the fifth-highest in the NFL this season among players with at least 100 pass attempts, and he leads all rookies in both categories. Minshew threw for more than 200 yards and posted a passer rating of at least 95.0 in each of his first four contests of his career during the month of September, becoming the first player in the NFL since 1990 to register 200-plus passing yards and a passer rating of at least 95.0 in each of his first four career games. He is also the only QB in the NFL to achieve the feat in all four games to open the 2019 season. The Washington State product was especially productive in the red zone in September, where his 123.9 passer rating (8 of 11 passing for 57 yards, 5 TDs and zero INTs) is the highest in the NFL with at least 10 passing attempts in the red zone.
During his professional debut against the Chiefs in Week 1, Minshew completed 22 of 25 passes (88.0 completion pct.) for 275 yards, two TDs and one INT for a passer rating of 122.5. Minshew completed his first 13 passes of the game, becoming the first player in the last 40 years to complete his first 13 passes in his first NFL action. Minshew’s 88.0 completion percentage in Week 1 was the highest for any player in NFL history with at least 15 pass attempts in their league debut and remains the highest in a single game in the NFL this season with a minimum of 20 attempts. In addition, he became the only rookie in NFL history to post at least 275 passing yards with a completion percentage greater than 75.0 in their NFL debut as a rookie in Week 1.
In his first career start in Week 2 at Houston, Minshew threw for 213 yards on 23 of 33 passing with one TD and zero INTs, in addition to a team-high 56 yards rushing. He is the second player in NFL history to post at least 200 passing yards, 50 rushing yards and zero INTs in his first career start, and the first-ever rookie to accomplish the feat among players with at least 10 passing attempts. The Brandon, Miss. native picked up his first professional win in Week 3 against Tennessee, when he completed 20 of 30 passes for 204 yards and two TDs for a passer rating of 108.2 and followed with a 213-yard and two TD performance (97.2 passer rating) in the Jaguars’ second consecutive win at Denver in Week 4.
Minshew is the first Jaguars player to win NFL Rookie of the Month honors since LB Clint Ingram in November 2006, and the first offensive rookie since Byron Leftwich in December 2003. Overall, he is the seventh different Jaguars player to win Rookie of the Month honors (Fred Taylor is the only rookie in franchise history to win Rookie of the Month honors multiple times – September 1998 and December 1998). Minshew has also won the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week award twice this season, in Week 1 and in Week 3, and is once again a finalist for this week’s award.
