Losing not an option
Although these two teams combined for a single win in the first two weeks of the season, I can say they exceeded preseason expectations with their performances. Dolphins were live in both games that they played. Many people expected that Jaguars are entering a complete rebuild of the roster and that the winning will not be their priority this year. Word "tanking" was used very often, because of two prime QB prospects available in the next year's draft, but Jaguars obviously had different plans.
They cleaned out their locker room and got rid of all the questionable characters that were holding them back, despite the obvious talent. And yes, they are in the rebuild, but everybody that knows Doug Marrone, knows that he and his staff are not okay with losing. After being a team that leaned on their defense in the past couple of years, things changed in this season. They finally have a healthy OL that they invested so much in and that group has been a motor thus far. It helped rookie James Robinson to have one of the most productive starts among rookie running backs and it bought some time for Gardner Minshew to find his receivers. He returned the favor with a couple of very sharp performances.
Depleted secondary
On the other side, we have a similar situation in Miami. A lot of people expected them to tank last year, but Brian Flores showed immediately that being ok with losing is not an option, while he's the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. They alo changed their roster quite a bit, trying to add a lot of young talent to this group. They were very excited about drafting Tua Tagovailoa, but he is yet to make the start, after injuring his hip in college. Luckily for them, Ryan Fitzpatrick is doing an extraordinary job, while keeping the starting spot warm for him.
One of the strengths of this team is their secondary. Especially the cornerback position. They have one of the best corner duos in the league with Byron Jones and Xavier Howard. Jones is out for the game tonight, which will be a problem in this matchup, considering how well Gardner Minshew threw the ball in the first two games.
Jaguars vs Dolphins betting tips
I like the home side in this spot. They are doing a great job using that big OL to pave the way for James Robinson and control the clock with their running game. Miami is allowing 5 yards per carry so far and in the NFL if you can't stop the run, you're going to struggle, more likely than not. Center Brandon Linder is out tonight because of the knee injury, but his replacement Tyler Shatley already has some starting experience.
Absence of Byron Jones will be another problem for Miami's defense. Jacksonville's offense is so well balanced. Gardner Minshew has plenty of receiving options and he spreads the ball around evenly. It will keep the opposing defense guessing and that is not a good situation to be in. Defensively, they also played better then expected, especially against the run. Allowing only 3.8 yards per carry is a success when we look at who they went against so far. The Dolphins running game is by far the worst they faced this year and I expect them to shut it down easily and force them to become one dimensional.
Also, don't forget to check out our new feature for comparing outright odds. These two opponents are both part of the AFC conference. Odds for winning it can be found with this link: https://theplayer.com/odds/american-football/usa/nfl/nfl-afc-conference-winner
