Jaguars vs. Dolphins: Jacksonville Set to Play Against Miami's Starters

The Jaguars will be able to see a legitimate test against Miami's starters.

The Jacksonville Jaguars intend to play their starters for most of the first half of the Miami Dolphins. And for at least a little while, it looks like they will be going against Miami's own starters. 

Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel tells reporters his plan is to play Tua Tagovailoa and starters “more than a series but less than a half” in preseason finale vs. Jaguars Saturday.

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) August 24, 2023

While it appears the Dolphins intend to play their starters less than the Jaguars plan to play theirs, this does mean that the first few series of Saturday night's game will be the only time this preseason that we will see starters vs. starters.

The Jaguars have played mostly backups in each of their first two preseason games, with the Jaguars playing their starters for the first several series vs. the Dallas Cowboys' backups in Week 1. The Jaguars and Detroit Lions each played mostly backups in Week 2 after the two teams had joint practices. 

Since the end of the Lions game, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson has made it clear that he sees it as advantageous for the Jaguars' starters to get game reps before Week 1.

“I’m still in the same mindset. I can’t really worry too much about who gets hurt and this and that. If I do, then people get hurt," Pederson said. 

"I just think you practice and play just like you’re getting ready for a regular season game and our starters need some time together on the field. They’ll get that opportunity this week, and I’ll monitor it. I’ll be on top of that too, so if I need to pull them out, I’ll pull them out. Right now, it’s still full steam ahead.”

“You can’t substitute game reps and the feeling of a little bit of pressure and heat from execution. In practice, it’s okay to make a mistake because we can correct it on film. In the game, it gets magnified. We just need those guys to play together, if they can play two quarters, I’d love to get a two-minute drive if we could. Those are all things that are hard to simulate in practice. We’d love to get the defense in a two-minute scenario in there as well. We’ll see how it goes, but they need the time in a game setting and being a home game too makes it a little easier that way.”