Cecil Shorts says the Jaguars can EASILY follow the 2000 Ravens' blueprint all the way to the Super Bowl ... telling TMZ Sports Blake Bortles' win over Tom Brady on Sunday only helps prove that.
Of course, Cecil's a little biased -- dude did play four of his six NFL seasons with the Jags -- but the ex-wideout is confident Jacksonville has that '00 Ray Lewis-type D to win it all this season.
"You've seen defenses of this caliber win Super Bowls," Shorts tells us.
"With the Ravens when they had [Trent Dilfer] and you can go back further with other teams."
Remember ... the '00 Ravens are considered the second-best defense of all-time, only behind the '85 Bears ... so it's high praise from Cecil.
But ... if Bortles plays like he did against the Pats -- Shorts is confident that won't seem like a farfetched comparison by the end of the year.
"If you don't believe in Blake," Cecil says, "[Sunday] was the reason for you to believe in Blake."