The Miami Dolphins came into TIAA Bank Field last week winless. A turnover festival against New England. A porous defense that gave up big plays against Buffalo.
So, who would have thought the Jaguars would have any problem with their state NFL neighbors? But Jacksonville fell to the Dolphins, 31-13 on Thursday Night Football.
The Jaguars are back in action on Sunday when they travel to Cincinnati to face another winless club, the Bengals (0-2-1).
The Bengals had chances to win it in Philadelphia, they could not hold on to a 23-16 lead with just over three minutes left in regulation and tied the Eagles 23-23. Their first tie in four years.
The Jaguars did make roster moves ahead of the second road trip of the season.
They signed kicker Steven Hauschka and the promoted defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale to the active roster from the team’s practice squad. To make room on the roster, the club released defensive lineman Timmy Jernigan, waived/injured kicker Brandon Wright (groin) and placed linebacker Leon Jacobs (knee) on the reserve/injured list.
The Jaguars also signed offensive lineman Jared Hilbers and kicker Aldrick Rosas to the team’s practice squad.
On TNF Miami QB Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 18-of-20 passes against the Jags breaking the South Florida team’s record for completion percentage in a game with a minimum of 20 attempts.
Fitzpatrick is the first NFL QB since at least 1950 to beat the same opponent as the starting signal caller with six different teams. He has now beaten the Jaguars as starting quarterback for Cincinnati, Buffalo, Tennessee, Houston, N.Y. Jets and Miami.
Miami’s 18-point win was the team’s largest margin of victory since a 26-point win against Denver in 2017. Miami (1-2) held Jacksonville to just 72 rushing yards. It was Jacksonville’s lowest total of the season and Miami’s lowest total allowed since 2019 against Cincinnati.
“There are times we get the ball moving, then something just kills the drive,” said Jacksonville QB Gardner Minshew. “There are things we’ve done in these three weeks that have been really good. There are things we have done that are kind of killing us. So, we are going to take this break to look back, evaluate, and move forward.”
Minshew completed 30-of-42 passes for 274 yards and no touchdowns with one interception.
Jacksonville (1-2) undrafted rookie running back James Robinson caught six passes for 83 yards and rushed 11 times for 46 yards and two TDs against Miami.
In the fourth quarter, defensive end Josh Allen sacked Fitzpatrick. Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack recorded a game-high 11 tackles, marking his third straight game with 11 tackles. Middle linebacker Joe Schobert posted eight tackles, including one tackle for loss against Miami. Jaguars safety Josh Jones finished second on the team with eight tackles.
NOTES
Miami has now evened the all-time series with Jacksonville at five games apiece (including one Jacksonville playoff victory). … Through three games, the Jaguars have scored TDs on eight of their nine red zone drives (88.9% TD rate), which currently ranks second in the NFL, trailing only the Seahawks’ 100.0% conversation rate (6 for 6).
