Miami Dolphins Look Their Best Against the Jacksonville Jaguars

The Miami Dolphins came away with their first win of the season. Facing the Jacksonville Jaguars, we saw something we hadn’t in a mighty long time, Miami in firm control of a football game. As stated at the end of the game, it had been three years since the team would walk away with a double-digit win. At almost 40 games, they’d hold the longest active streak without winning by 10 or more.

You’ll hear the nay-sayers point out that it was just the Jaguars, but don’t listen. That same Jags team beat Phillip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts, and put up 30 against the playoff underdogs last season in the Tennessee Titans. Between those two games, Jacksonville scored 57 points. Monday against the Dolphins, they’d only muster up 13.

“But what about the stats?”

True, statistically the Dolphins looked like a hot mess. Fans will be quick to point out just how little Jordan Howard is being used in the run game. They’ll also point out how Myles Gaskin rushed for only 66 yards on 22 carries. However, the majority of his runs were in the second half, protecting a double-digit lead, while Miami was trying to play mistake-free football. If they try to get too flashy it could’ve cost them. Jacksonville adjusted to Miami doubling down on a bland offense in the second half.

Then, of course, there was Fitzmagic. Oh what a difference a couple days make for Ryan Fitzpatrick. On a short week, Fitz looked more like a franchise quarterback than a place holder. Too bad those days are long gone. He’d start out completing his first 12 passes, throw two TDs, rush for another, and even completed a pass to himself. At no point did Miami look like he was ready to give up a lead.

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Defensively, Miami tightened things up. There’s still some sloppy play but it was a huge improvement over the weeks before. Fundamentally their biggest red flag is over-pursuing. Three weeks in a row, defenders will be closing in on ball carriers and without pulling off any fancy moves they’ll cut back by defenders. Too many short yardage situations turn into big gains because they need to take better angles.

With that being said, the Dolphins would bend but did not break on defense. With an interception, a fumble recovered, and four sacks Miami’s defense was closer to what they expected it to be with their offseason investments.

10 days separate them from their matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. There’s plenty of time to let nagging injuries heal . If this is the turning point where they get healthy and into a rhythm, they’ll surprise teams all season long.