Jaguars opened the 2024 regular season in Miami against the Dolphins. On paper, the game could have easily been pre decided for the South Florida team, however at beginning of the game, the North Florida natives had something to say about that.
The Jaguars defense opened the game in great fashion. Getting pressure on Tua Tagovailoa is never an easy task, however the Jaguars front line did just that. Overall the Jaguars stayed defensively sound.
Holding the Dolphins to only 7 points total in the first half. As we all know, you can celebrate before the game is over and we have seen many times where teams take their foot off the gas and it hurts them in the end. That's exactly what happened to the cardiac cats in Miami Gardens.
The second half was a different story for the Jaguars. Not converting 3rd downs, costly penalties, and of course a truly untimely fumble by #1 Travis Etienne Jr. will surely aid you in losing any game. Miami capitalized on all the Jags second half mistakes and mishaps with an unanswered 13 points in the second half to win the game 20 to 17 with a last second field goal.
Some key takeaways after this game:
- Jaguars Defense will be good
- The team handled the speed of the Miami offense really well. Only 3 or 4 big explosive plays were made by what some deem as the best WR room in the NFL
- Jaguars WR room can hang with the best of them.
- 162 receiving yards for the room in total. 12 receptions on the day with Gabe Davis getting 3 catches for 62 yards and rookie Brian Thomas had 4 catches for 47 yards
- Rushing problem
- Travis Etienne Jr. was soundly out played by his back up Tank Bigsby. Bigsby totaled 73 yards on the ground with 12 carries, while Etienne finished with 44 yards and 12 carries.
- Hold the ball!
- Both Parker Washington and Travis Etienne had fumbles on the day. While Washington recovered his on, some could argue that Etienne's fumble changed the momentum of the game.
The Jaguars are back in the bank this Sunday to take on the Cleveland Browns. Tune in to the Teal Tailgate to hear all about it this Sunday at 9am.