Dolphins starters look serviceable in win over Jaguars in preseason finale

Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel wanted the starters to play in the final preseason game to “get the last jitterbugs out.”

Hopefully that was worth it — because quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took his fair share of licks in the process.

The Dolphins beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 14-6 Saturday evening to bring both teams’ preseasons to a close. With two weeks until the regular season, Miami’s first-team offense certainly has work to do as the execution initially looked a bit sloppy. Defensively, the Dolphins starters racked up big plays yet gave up some of their own, a bit surprising considering the Jaguars opted to play their backups.

“We had some self-inflicted stuff,” McDaniel said, referring to the offense’s slow start. He praised the Dolphins’ “resolve” after the unit was able to “find a rhythm and finish a drive in the end zone.”

While the Jaguars offense had five plays of 10 or more yards in the first quarter, the Dolphins defense held firm when it counted. Case in point: the Jaguars did not convert a third down in the opening quarter – in large part due to the play of edge rushers Chop Robinson, who recorded a sack, while Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb combined for one more.

“It’s fun to be out there with each other now for sure,” Chubb said. The shared sack with Phillips was even more special considering the two missed significant chunks of the 2024 season as they rehabbed right knee injuries. “Fighting to get back last year and all the things that we had to go through and all the trials and tribulations but it makes it worth it at the end of the day when you make a play.”

Even with Tagovailoa behind center, the offense seemingly sputtered on their first two drives due to a penalty and missed blocks. The Dolphins couldn’t even make it past their own 27-yard line as the franchise quarterback also took two sacks. Tagovailoa simply called it part of the game.

“It felt good to get hit again,” Tagovailoa said. “Maybe that’s not what people want to hear but as we’re getting ready and getting started to get back into the normal routine of what a season would feel like, it feels good to get out there, get sacked a little bit.”

The Dolphins offense didn’t finds its groove until the third drive of the day. Coincidentally: that was also the first time that Tagovailoa targeted receiver Jaylen Waddle. Powered primarily by tailback Ollie Gordon II, who finished the day with eight carries for 43 yards rushing, the Dolphins would later score the first touchdown of the day when Tagovailoa found receiver Malik Washington who juked a few Jaguar defenders enroute to his score.

“That’s a move you dream up late night when you’re just thinking visualizing the play,” Washington said. The second-year receiver caught three balls for a team-high 41 yards receiving and a touchdown. “It just came to life.”

Due to kicker Jason Sanders’ unknown injury, the Dolphins decided to go for two. Tagovailoa connected with tight end Pharaoh Brown for the two-point conversion to give Miami the 8-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The Jaguars also found more offensive success in the second quarter with two made field goals. Dolphins rookie cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. helped force the first three-point try due to his blanket coverage of Jaguars’ Austin Trammell. Marshall did all this from the nickel corner spot, something that he had never done before until the Dolphins recently decided to give it a try.

“It didn’t look too big for him and that’s impressive because it’s a more challenging position that you can really get exposed if you’re off your leverage or out of your run fits,” McDaniel said of Marshall.

Although Zach Wilson replaced Tagovailoa towards the end of the second quarter, his first set of plays ended in a missed field goal courtesy of punter Jake Bailey. A Jaguars field goal as time expired had the Dolphins up 8-6 at halftime.

It wasn’t until after Wilson walked out the tunnel that the offense began to click. The backup quarterback found four different pass-catchers to lead the Dolphins to the 7-yard line. Tailback Mike Boone then punched it in to increase the Dolphins’ lead to 14-6 after Wilson failed to convert the two-point conversion.

Boone’s touchdown run would be the final score of the game for either team. Not even Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers, who tossed two touchdowns in the previous game against the Detroit Lions, could find paydirt after he replaced Wilson late in the third.

The Jaguars had three chances to tie the game at 14 in the second half, however, a sack from Dolphins edge rusher Derrick McLendon and tight coverage stopped kept Jacksonville from back-to-back third-down conversions. A final drive ended with an interception as Dolphins safety John Saunders Jr. picked off Jacksonville quarterback Seth Henigan just before the two-minute warning.

“It’s a lot that goes into this — a lot of hard work and dedication,” Saunders said. “I was just waiting on the opportunity to come and now that it’s here, I’m so excited that I was able to take advantage of it.”

With the final preseason game now in the books, the Dolphins must now trim the roster to 53 players, something that the NFL requires by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

This story was originally published August 23, 2025 at 9:57 PM.