GLENDALE, Ariz. -- A third-string quarterback might just have given other teams the blueprint for success against the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense.

Blaine Gabbert -- the quarterback the Jaguars dumped in 2014 and the one who couldn’t beat Drew Stanton to be the top backup to Carson Palmer in Arizona -- got the better of the Jaguars’ relentless pass rush on Sunday afternoon. Gabbert eluded the pressure, extended plays with his feet and did what no other quarterback has been able to do against the Jaguars this season.

He thrived.

“Very frustrating,” safety Tashaun Gipson said. “When you’ve got a defensive line like this that prides itself on getting to the quarterback ... He’s athletic, and he was making plays with his feet today, and it cost us in the second half.”

The Jaguars entered the game leading the NFL in sacks (40) but managed to bring Gabbert down just once: with a sack by Yannick Ngakoue that resulted in a fumble that Calais Campbell returned for a touchdown.

Other than that, Gabbert consistently got out of trouble, which led to either scrambles for positive yardage or pass completions, including a 52-yard touchdown throw to Jaron Brown.

It was a painful lesson for the Jaguars’ defense: If they don’t get to the quarterback or he’s able to extend plays, they’re just as susceptible to big plays as any other defense. That’s potentially a big issue, considering they have games against Russell Wilson and Marcus Mariota left on the schedule.

“We are built on getting pressure and stopping quarterbacks,” Campbell said. “When you can extend it for five to six seconds, it is hard on anybody.”

The Jaguars had been getting to the quarterback all season. They’ve had a pair of 10-sack games and have had at least two sacks in nine of 11 games. Campbell was tied for the league lead with 11.5, and Ngakoue recorded his 10th against the Cardinals.

The only mobile quarterbacks the Jaguars faced in their first 10 games, however, were Deshaun Watson (in the second half of the opener) and Mariota. Watson entered the game with the Texans trailing 19-0, and it was his first NFL game, so he wasn’t as comfortable. Mariota was sacked only once in the Titans’ victory.

The Jacksonville defense is not unique in that if the opposing quarterback breaks containment, the Jaguars will struggle. That hasn’t happened too often this season, but the Jaguars didn’t handle it well on Sunday.

“It’s one of those scenarios where if you’re in coverage, you’re in coverage,” linebacker Myles Jack said. “If you’re rushing, you’re rushing, [and] you just have to trust each other because once you’re in coverage, and if you leave your coverage to go become a defensive lineman, he’s going to throw it right behind you, and it’s going to be an explosive play. It’s trust, man, knowing that sometimes he’s going to get out of the pocket.”

It hadn’t happened until Sunday, but it could be an issue in the stretch run.