Jaguars vs. Dolphins: Notes and Thoughts at Halftime

Just how much do the Jaguars need to improve over the second half to find their first win of the season? We break down where they need to win and where they need to get better here.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are not looking much better overseas than they have looked in Florida, trailing the Miami Dolphins 13-10 at the half. 

It was a mostly disastrous half for the Jaguars, with almost nothing going Jacksonville's way and everything going Miami's, with the Jaguars making Tua Tagovailoa look like prime Dan Marino despite the Dolphins missing two of their top three receivers.

Plays of the half

Well .... there isn't a lot of good here. The Jaguars gave up numerous big gains on the first drive of the game as the Dolphins drove up and down the field via the passing game. The Jaguars got good pressure on Tua Tagovailoa, but gains of of 17 and 20 on 3rd down to Mack Hollins and Mike Gesicki kept the Dolphins' drive alive until Nevin Lawson was beat by Jaylen Waddle for a seven-yard touchdown.

The Jaguars picked things up on offense on their first drive, with a 28-yard gain from Jamal Agnew on the first play of the drive. Things quickly went downhill after that, though. The Jaguars put themselves into field goal range but could have done even more damage had Dan Arnold not dropped a wide-open pass across the middle on 3rd-and-5. It was a perfectly placed ball from Lawrence that Arnold likely could have scored on, but instead the Jaguars were forced to kick the ball. 

The Jaguars' offense had a major case of the "what if's?" in the first-half, too. James Robinson had a 28-yard run that was negated by a Luke Farrell facemask penalty, leading to the Jaguars getting behind the sticks and facing 3rd-and-long. And on 3rd down, Lawrence delivered a low pass to a wide-open Shenault, who got two hands on the ball but still dropped it, failing to secure a first. 

With that said, the Jaguars closed out the first half with a major win. Following a 4th-and-6 completion to Shenault, the Jaguars threw a deep shot to Marvin Jones in the right corner of the end zone. For the first time all game, things went right for the Jaguars, too, with Jones catching a 28-yard dime from Lawrence.

.@MarvinJonesJr STAYS making ridiculous grabs. 😱 #DUUUVAL @Trevorlawrencee | @Jaguars | @NFLUK

📺: #MIAvsJAX on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/7UykHD8H0O

— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2021

Where are the Jaguars winning?

I am not really sure. Lawrence has looked comfortable despite the Dolphins getting plenty of pressure, though he has missed on a few throws. Still, Lawrence hasn't put the ball in harm's way once and he is making smart decisions on nearly every throw. His process has been on point throughout the first half, the Jaguars just need the execution to get on the same page. 

Still, Lawrence was the Jaguars' lone bright spot. he completed 60% of his passes, nearly had a QBR of 100 during the first half, and didn't have any turnover-worthy plays. For a Jaguars offense that looked disjointed around him, Lawrence did his part.

Where are the Jaguars losing?

In the air. The Jaguars let Tagovailoa, one of the NFL's lest productive starting quarterbacks over the last two years, absolutely shred them. Nevin Lawson, Andrew Wingard, Tre Herndon, and the linebackers were all victimized by a normally bad Dolphins' passing game that is missing two of its three best receivers. When Mack Hollins has four catches for 61 yards, that is a bad sign.

The Jaguars also didn't do enough to help Lawrence on offense. Outside of Arnold's drop, the Jaguars also had two bad drops from Shenault and a third-down drop from Tavon Austin. Lawrence was only inaccurate on one of those passes, too, and each one should have been caught. Ultimately, the skill players have let Lawrence down thus far.