By Rich Bergeron
It’s hard to believe the 3-3 Miami Dolphins of week 8 are the same team that beat the New England Patriots 33-20 in week one. It’s even harder to believe the 1-6 Jacksonville Jaguars will benefit enough from the momentum of their 24-6 win over the Cleveland Browns last week and beat these Dolphins.
This all-Florida battle should be all Miami’s, but it’s an any-given-Sunday league this year, and Jacksonville QB Blake Bortles (114-174, 1163 yards, 5 TDs, 10 INTs) is due for a rookie breakout. If he can stop throwing passes to the other team and capitalize more on his rushing (he’s already the team’s second-best runner with 21 attempts for 143 yards), Bortles will lead his team to the win on Sunday. Bortles has already been sacked 13 times for a loss of 76 yards.
Jacksonville Running Back Denard Robinson averages 4.4 yards per carry for Jacksonville with 50 carries for 221 yards and a touchdown. Receivers Allen Hurns (19 catches, 305 yards, 3 TDs) and Allen Robinson (34 catches, 371 yards, TD) lead the team in yardage through the air, and neutralizing them will be a prime focus for the Dolphins defense, which ranks 3rd against the pass (213.3 average yards allowed per game) and 10th against the rush (100.3 average yards allowed per game).
The Jaguars defense owns a league-leading 22 sacks (-86 yards) so far to go with only 2 interceptions on the season. Miami’s D has 17 sacks and 4 interceptions.
Three-year veteran Ryan Tannehill (138-218, 1,423 yards, 10 TDs, 5 INTs, 14 sacks) could still wind up teaching Bortles a quarterback clinic Sunday if he can stay off his back. He has 150 yards of his own on the ground, and Running Back Lamar Miller (81 carries, 391 yards, 4 TDs, 17 catches, 115 yards, TD) is a solid backup for Knowshon Moreno, who is now dealing with multiple injuries likely to keep him out for the duration of the season. The team is still managing to hold down an average of 136.3 yards per game on the ground, good enough for 4th place in the league.
The Dolphins will rely on leading receivers Jarvis Landry (22 catches, 232 yards, TD) and Mike Wallace (30 catches, 359 yards, 5 TDs) on Sunday to win this game. The Denard Robinson experiment may not pay off against a defense as strong as Miami’s, and it will be the better passing game that wins on Sunday.
Prediction: Field position will dictate the pace of this game with the Dolphins dominating in Jacksonville from the opening whistle. If they don’t score on their first possession, they will punch it through on the second, all on the way to a 28-13 win over Jacksonville. When they punt, they won’t pay for it, with their defense playing better than ever. Miller scores the lone rushing touchdown as Tannehill throws for two scores and benefits from a defensive score on a Bortles interception. Robinson gets the only touchdown for his team, but he’s not the equalizer in this one. Bortles is just too inexperienced and in over his head in this game and doesn’t help open up running lanes with his passing.
