JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The big stage, bright lights and big crowd didn't affect Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles on Friday night.

Bortles threw for 164 yards and two touchdowns in 11-on-11 work in the team's scrimmage in front of 20,257 fans at EverBank Field. It was a marked difference from his performance in the team's first night practice: He threw five interceptions last Saturday, including one returned for a touchdown.

On Friday night, however, Bortles completed 18 of 22 passes and led the Jaguars to a touchdown in a two-minute, end-of-game situation, a drive he culminated with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Marqise Lee. He didn't force any throws, took some dump-offs when he didn't have anything open, and was accurate with his ball placement.

Blake Bortles went 18-for-22 passing in Friday night's scrimmage and looked sharp in hurry-up situations. AP Photo/John Raoux

It was everything head coach Doug Marrone wanted to see from the fourth-year player who is trying to convince the franchise that he is the long-term answer at quarterback.

"I thought most of the night he went in there and took what the defense was giving him," Marrone said. "I didn't think he really forced any balls tonight, so from a decision-making process I thought he did a nice job there. I also thought from a ball-location process when he was coming down and people were in man coverage, he was putting the ball where our receiver can catch it and keeping it away from the defender.

"There were some good things there."

It was a situational scrimmage, with drives starting at specific spots, including inside the offense's 5-yard line and at the defense's 25-yard line for red zone work. Bortles hooked up with running back Corey Grant on an angle route in the middle of the field for a 9-yard touchdown in red zone drills, but his most impressive work of the night came in the two-minute drill.

The offense started at their own 25-yard line, trailing by four with 1:54 to play and one timeout. Bortles completed a 3-yard pass to T.J. Yeldon and followed with completions of 19 and 10 yards to Allen Robinson. A hold by right tackle Jermey Parnell on the next snap gave the Jaguars a first-and-20 at their own 47.

The offense has had a hard time overcoming penalties in the past three seasons -- they've often killed drives -- but Bortles hit Robinson for 21 yards, then saw Lee being covered by cornerback Doran Grant and lofted a pass down the right sideline. Lee made the catch and scored with 1:07 remaining.

Five plays, 75 yards, 47 seconds -- and no need to use the timeout. It was the most impressive drive from the offense through the first nine practices of training camp and Bortles' best overall day of camp. Bortles has had one really bad practice (five interceptions last Saturday) and one poor practice (two interceptions and a little wild last Friday), but otherwise has had a good camp.

That's what the Jaguars were hoping to see from Bortles: cut down on turnovers, make better decisions, be more accurate with throws, be more consistent. It's an encouraging sign for a player who is entering the most critical season of his career, but he must perform well in two days of joint practices with New England this Monday and Tuesday and with Tampa Bay the following week to show that he really has made progress.