The Miami Dolphins will be looking to get their second win of this season on Sunday, but the Jacksonville Jaguars stand in their way.
Tua Tagovailoa is set to make his return as the starting quarterback for Miami, and he’ll go head-to-head with the number one pick in this year’s draft, Trevor Lawrence.
With the Jaguars inching closer to setting the NFL record for most consecutive losses, this may be one of their few chances to find a winnable game for Urban Meyer this year.
These are five reasons the Dolphins should be concerned about their Week 6 matchup with the Jaguars.
James Robinson could run all over this defense.
Robinson put the league on notice last year when he ran for over 1,000 yards as an undrafted rookie who wasn’t expected to win the starting job. Now, a year later, he’s picking up right where he left off.
In five games, he’s totaled 387 yards on just 67 attempts (5.8 average) with four touchdowns. He’s also added 14 receptions for 88 yards in the passing game.
Miami has allowed the ninth-most rushing yards per game on the season (133.6), so there’s a chance Robinson has his best game of the year this week.
They actually do a great job keeping Lawrence off his back.
The Jaguars have invested some decent capital into protecting their quarterback.
Left tackle Cam Robinson and left guard Andrew Norwell are the two highest-paid players in Jacksonville this season, according to Over the Cap. On the right side, they also have Jawaan Taylor who was a second-round pick just two years ago.
Brandon Linder and A.J. Cann are normally in the middle, but they’re both on injured reserve, so Miami may have caught a break there.
On the year, the Jaguars are tied for sixth in sacks allowed per game, giving up only 1.6 per contest.
Laviska Shenault is a weapon.
The Jaguars deploy Shenault in a myriad of ways.
Whether he’s running straight nine-routes or running end-arounds, Jacksonville succeeds when the wideout from Colorado touches the ball.
Without D.J. Chark, his role continues to increase, and this could be a week where he takes advantage of a struggling secondary and puts up some big numbers.
Speaking of the secondary, they're banged up.
The Dolphins will be without Xavien Howard on Sunday, as he’s been dealing with shoulder and groin injuries throughout the last two weeks.
Byron Jones is also questionable this week due to an Achilles.
If Jones is unable to play, Jason McCourty, Nik Needham, Justin Coleman, and Eric Rowe will have to do a majority of the work at cornerback, and that could spell bad news for Miami.
This may be the best week of Trevor Lawrence’s young career thus far.
The Dolphins don't have the wideouts to take advantage of Jacksonville's secondary.
Will Fuller is on injured reserve, DeVante Parker is inactive, and Preston Williams is questionable. Miami’s wide receiver room could look empty on Sunday.
Jaylen Waddle, Albert Wilson, and Mack Hollins are currently the only wideouts on the active roster with Isaiah Ford, Kirk Merritt, and Travis Fulgham currently on the practice squad.
At least one practice squad member will be elevated this weekend, as the Dolphins will need all the help they can get. Tagovailoa can’t throw the ball to himself.
