Jaguars look to continue Prime Time dominance against depleted Dolphins secondary

By Dustin Fletcher | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Thursday, the Jaguars will take on their in-state rivals, the Miami Dolphins to possibly move atop the AFC South until Sunday. The team will have it’s hands full with the Dolphins’ offense, but they should be able to move the ball at will against a depleted Dolphins secondary. The Jaguars have won four straight prime-time games, and will look to extend that streak to five.

Through two weeks, Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew is tied for second in the league with six touchdowns. Minshew also ranks fourth in the league in completion percentage (75.4%), and seventh in quarterback rating(115.7). 

The Dolphins will be without their star cornerback Byron Jones, who will miss the game with a groin and achilles injury. The Dolphins will likely also be missing safety Clayton Fejedelem with a pectoral injury.

Along with those two, other star cornerback Xavien Howard was limited in practice all week with a knee injury. 

The Jaguars will be missing center and captain Brandon Linder, tight end Tyler Davis, kicker Josh Lambo and wide receiver D.J. Chark through injury.

Jaguars rookie running back James Robinson has also started off the season incredibly strong, building off of a great training camp, one that saw him win the job as an undrafted rookie free agent. Robinson ranks eighth in the NFL in yards (164) and is 14th in the league in yards per carry (5.13).

Even more impressive has been the efficiency of the young wide receiving core. 

D.J. Chark has only seven targets this season, but has caught all seven targets for 109 yards and a touchdown. However, he will miss Thursday night’s game through a chest injury.

LaViska Shenault has also been impressive at both wide receiver and out of the backfield and was the only rookie receiver in the league to catch a touchdown in week one. Keelan Cole has been incredibly reliable as a safety outlet for Minshew, and has two touchdowns so far.

This is a rather positive outlook that seems to favor Jacksonville, as this team feels like one that will win shootouts nine times out of 10. Jacksonville should win this game, even if Ryan Fitzpatrick has a beard to Minshew’s stache. By the way, stache over beard, no contest. 

Prediction: #DUUUVAL 38 – Miami 24