The Miami Dolphins suffered their worst loss of the season, falling to the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 23-20. The Jaguars came into this game as an underdog as they were winless before this matchup. Jacksonville was also reeling from the Urban Meyer controversy, which caused distractions.
This was the Dolphins’ game to win, but they could not finish drives offensively and allowed the Jaguars to keep the game close. This loss extends the Dolphins’ skid to four games.
Offense
The Miami Dolphins started this game on fire, scoring on their first two possessions. Their first drive went 13 plays and totaled 75 yards, ending with a short touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle. Waddle had one of the better games on this Dolphins offense, with 70 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The Dolphins’ second drive of the game ended in a Jason Sanders 34-yard field goal.
After the field goal is when the Dolphins really started struggling. Miami just couldn’t find ways to finish off drives and score touchdowns. They did manage to take the lead in the fourth quarter as their defense kept them in the game. Tagovailoa completed another short touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle to make the score 20-17 in the fourth. The Jaguars would end up tying the game on the ensuing drive and later winning the game with a field goal in the final seconds of the game.
Defense
The defense for the Dolphins was not at full strength this past Sunday, as they were missing their two playmaking defensive backs in Xavien Howard and Byron Jones. This was noticeable, as Trevor Lawrence had an easy time passing the ball. He put up some big number, throwing for over 300 yards and a score.
The Dolphins did get pressure on Lawrence throughout the game, though. Emmanuel Ogbah and Christian Wilkins both sacked Lawrence once in this game. Ogbah has been good for the Dolphins this season, compiling 2.5 sacks and 16 total tackles so far this year. Wilkins knocked the ball out Trevor Lawrence’s hands on his sack. He has 27 total tackles and two sacks on the season.
The defense deserves credit for keeping the offense in this game, as most of the Dolphins points came from field goals until their fourth quarter touchdown. The Dolphins also noticeably missed a lot of tackles, which is part of the reason the Jaguars won this game. Overall, this wasn’t great performance by the Dolphins defense, but it definitely was not the worst.
Dolphins standouts
Mike Gesicki had a great game for the Dolphins and is slowly becoming that explosive and reliable tight end the Dolphins and NFL fans saw last year. Gesicki and Tagovailoa also seem to have better chemistry than Jacoby Brissett and Gesicki. He ended the day 115 receiving yards, which is most production we have seen from Gesicki this year.
Mack Hollins got a lot of playing time due to injuries within the receiving core. He stepped up and made big plays that helped keep the Dolphins in the game. Hollins had 4 receptions for 61 yards.
This was a very disappointing game for the Dolphins. They had their starting quarterback back in the lineup and they still couldn’t find a way to win. Maybe the Dolphins can bounce back next week, as they face the Falcons at home.
Featured image courtesy of Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
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