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5 Observations From the Jaguars’ 33–13 Loss to the Dolphins in Week 3

What can we take away from Jacksonville's poor showing on Thursday Night Football?

To say the Jacksonville Jaguars' 31-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football was ugly would be an understatement. With a chance to earn respect while in the national spotlight, the Jaguars looked sluggish, unprepared, and simply played a bad all-around football game. 

But what can we learn from the Week 3 loss and use to give us an idea of where the 1-2 Jaguars could head from here? We attempt to find the answer below by listing our top observations from the home loss.

Jacksonville's defense has more warts than signs of encouragement 

Other than stopping the run more often than not, what is there that the Jaguars' defense does well on a consistent basis? That is the question the Jaguars are having to ask themselves about a unit that has three first-round picks on the defensive line, one in the secondary, and two of the league's highest-paid linebackers. The Jaguars' defense once again came out cold to start the game, allowing 21 points and over 200 yards of offense in the first half, while also allowing Ryan Fitzpatrick to complete 90% of his passes, including each of his first 11. 

We will get to the pass rush later on, but the Jaguars recorded just one sack, zero pass deflections and zero turnovers. When it came to stopping the run, the Jaguars limited Miami's backs but they were beaten badly by jet sweeps from the receivers and by Fitzpatrick's own legs. All in all, it was a bad showing from a unit that, so far, looks to be a bad defense. 

James Robinson could be special. The Jaguars should let him try to be

12 of the Jaguars' 13 points and 129 of the team's 318 total net yards on Thursday night came from one player: rookie running back James Robinson. Robinson has had a fabulous start to the season after winning the Jaguars' starting position as an undrafted rookie, but his game against the Dolphins might have been his best showing because it showed how much he can impact the game as a runner, receiver, and blocker. 

Robinson only rushed 11 times due to Jacksonville falling behind by several touchdowns early in the game, but he turned those 11 carries into 46 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. He also led the team in receiving with six catches for 83 yards, which included several highlight-reel runs after the catch. Robinson was Jacksonville's best player on Thursday, but at the end of the day they still only let him play 50% of the snaps. Robinson could be a special back, but the Jaguars need to put him in better situations from a game script perspective, and then they need to keep him in the game to start with.

Jaguars are plunging directly into major kicker issues

A few weeks ago, the Jaguars had one of the best kicker situations in the entire NFL thanks to Josh Lambo leading the charge. Ever since Lambo signed with the Jaguars in 2017, he had given the team a reliable and consistent presence in the third phase of the game. All of that changed this week when Lambo was placed on injured reserve, however, and things got worse during Thursday's bout with the Dolphins. 

Jacksonville turned to undrafted rookie Brandon Wright to replace Lambo in Week 3, but Wright wasn't able to finish his first NFL game. He made his first point after attempt but would miss his second one before leaving the game with a groin injury. Head coach Doug Marrone said Friday that the Jaguars would bring in kickers next week, so it looks like the Jaguars are set to have to turn to their third option at kicker to get through the next several weeks.

Gardner Minshew picked a bad time to have his worst game of the year

Gardner Minshew deserved all of the praise he was getting for his performance in the first two weeks of the season; he was accurate, decisive, and made plenty of big plays. But for all of the good things he did in Weeks 1 and 2, he struggled in just as many areas against the Dolphins, having easily the worst game of his 2020 season. 

Minshew's final numbers don't look awful -- he completed 71.4% of his passes for 6.5 yards per attempt -- but context is needed. Minshew got a good chunk of his production when the game was already far out of hand and the Dolphins were essentially giving the Jaguars free yards underneath. He looked skittish in the pocket all evening and his accuracy at all three levels of the field was hit-or-miss at best. The Jaguars needed Minshew to have a big game while on a big stage, but he shrunk under the microscope at a time in which everyone was expecting for him to shine. 

The Jaguars pass rush still lacks teeth, even against bad offensive lines 

Through three games, the Jaguars have just three sacks. They have gotten one in each game, but that is the extent to which their pass-rush has gotten home. Otherwise, the Jaguars have struggled to get anywhere near the quarterback, and this trend continued on Thursday against a Dolphins offensive line that isn't exactly known for its proficiency. 

Josh Allen got his first sack of the 2020 season during Thursday's contest, but it was on a roll-out in which Fitzpatrick should have just thrown the ball away, making it far from an impressive play. Aside from that play, the Jaguars couldn't disrupt Fitzpatrick at any point in the game no matter what they tried. Big packages, small ones, blitzes or just rushing four, the Jaguars did all they could to try to get into the backfield but, once again, failed to do so.