The Miami Dolphins will host the Jacksonville Jaguars at 1pm on this Sunday September 8th. This is the first time the two organizations will face off in the regular season since they played in London in 2021. The Jaguars took the win back to the states home 23-20, and former head coach Urban Meyer picked up his first win in the national football league. Below in this article I will talk about how each team stacks up against each other, how the game should go, and an official prediction.
Let’s start with the Dolphins offense vs the Jaguars defense. The Dolphins offense is the pride of their team, as soon as they hired offensive mind Mike McDaniel as their head coach they hit the ground running as an offense that should be feared. How does he do it? With scheme and speed. McDaniel runs a zone run scheme where he likes to get his offensive line on the run, he uses this to his advantage with the amount of speed on his team. Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert, Devon Achane, Jaylen Wright are the names that come to mind with the speed, but even some other players are extremely fast for their position. Terron Armstead ran the fastest 40 yard dash time ever for an offensive lineman in 4.71 seconds. Aaron Brewer is considered the most explosive center in the national football league, Jonnu Smith the tight end is definitely one of the fastest and most explosive tight ends with the ball in his hands. McDaniel invested in all of these guys and it has clearly worked out.
However, more focus should be on Tua Tagovailoa, who is the conductor of this train. Tagovailoa has been outstanding since Mike McDaniel came to town, Tagovailoas accuracy, anticipation, pocket presence, quick release, work in the RPO game, and flashes of playmaking ability have helped the Dolphins offense be so elite. This offense is tailor made for him, it is not an offense where any quarterback can come in and operate, they have all failed.
The Dolphins offense has a tough task this Sunday, this Jaguars defense is no joke. They have a new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielson who did a great job at Atlanta last year, he has ties to Dennis Allen in New Orleans who runs a scheme where they run a lot of man coverage, cover 1, and cover 3 zone. They are able to make it work with big strong defensive lineman and a single high safety that can cover ground. They have the guys in the front 7 to stop the run. Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, Arik Armstead, DaVon Hamilton, Roy Robertson-Harris, Foye Oluokon, and Devin Lloyd make up a loaded front 7. Setting the tone against the Dolphins interior offensive line is how you beat their offense. There are so many rhythm timing throws for the Dolphins, if you can bully their weaker interior offensive line you can blow the play up early.
However, where I think the Dolphins have a large advantage is in their passing attack against the Jaguars pass defense. Hines-Allen is a game wrecker, but the Dolphins are usually very good at game planning against a stud edge rusher. The Dolphins offense had pretty good games against Maxx Crosby for the Raiders and Micah Parsons for the Cowboys. I expect something similar this weekend. Also the Jaguars secondary is below average at best. Their best corner is Tyson Campbell, but Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle both are better players than him. The Dolphins also got a receiving weapon out of the backfield in Devon Achane who is just scratching the surface in the receiving game.
Now let’s talk about the Jaguars offense vs the Dolphins defense. The Jaguars have a solidified offensive line, run game, and weapons. Trevor Lawrence is also a talented QB in his own right, but his play did decrease last year from the year before. Doug Pederson runs a scheme familiar to his roots in Kansas City, they run the ball but also spread their receivers out in the pass game. The Dolphins defense on the other hand has different strengths.
Anthony Weaver is the Dolphins new defensive coordinator coming over after being Baltimore’s defensive line coach. He specializes in defensive line play and creating pressure, while his DBs play primarily zone coverage. However, he does want to use his players to the best of his advantage so the Dolphins might be more man coverage and blitz heavy this year. He has his hands full though, because as of right now, their defensive line looks poor. Zach Sieler is the only healthy star player for the Dolphins on the defensive line currently. Jaelan Phillips is rostered and should be good to go week 1, but we will see if he is 100%. Next to him should be Calais Campbell who is entering the last year or two of his career, and Benito Jones who is adequate at best. Emmanuel Ogbah should get the start as well, who is good depth at best. The Dolphins need a big step up from rookie Chop Robinson if they want to be disruptive early on, until Bradley Chubb gets back.
Their linebacker room is strong, especially against the run. The Jags offensive line and Travis Etienne will test them. The Dolphins secondary should have the upperhand against a new look Jaguars secondary. Jalen Ramsey should be in charge of covering rookie Brian Thomas Jr, that is a tough first NFL game for the rookie. Fuller will be in charge of covering Gabe Davis, that should be a fun matchup, while Kader Kohou will be in a battle with Christian Kirk in the slot. The Jaguars will take their shots when needed, but will likely attack the Dolphins defensive line with the run instead. It is worth noting, Jalen Ramsey is still a gametime decision for the Dolphins, if he does not play that is a huge blow for the Dolphins.
All in all, I expect a competitive game between both squads. One thing I think favors the Dolphins is the new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, which presents a challenge to any QB. Lawrence and Doug Pederson were most definitely watching a lot of film on the Baltimore defense where Weaver coached along the defensive line. I also think Mike McDaniel shows some new innovative things that many people in the league copy from him. Where Jacksonville can make their money is from controlling clock and dominating the trenches. However, the Dolphins are very well coached on both sides of the ball and it will not be an easy task.
My official prediction: I think the Miami Dolphins win 28 to 18. I expect the Dolphins offense to be explosive as always, and I expect the passing attack to dominate.