JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tune-up time is over.
The Jaguars wrapped up just the second unbeaten preseason in franchise history on Saturday night, handling the Dolphins 31-18 in the exhibition finale at EverBank Stadium against the Dolphins. The game was called with 8 minutes, 32 seconds left after Miami receiver Daewood Davis was injured on a play. Davis was covered by Derek Parish and slanted across the middle. Linebacker Dequan Jackson appeared to make contact with Davis at the end of the play, and Davis fell face first down on the turf and remained motionless. He was carted off and coaches conferred and agreed to stop the game.
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It was the first time home fans had a chance to see the Jaguars at the Bank this preseason, and the last time Jacksonville will be in town until a Week 2 game against the Chiefs.
The early going
- Pederson wanted to give his starting unit its most extensive work of the preseason. And both sides of the ball looked good against Miami. Trevor Lawrence carried Jacksonville down the field with ease on its opening drive, a march that had two passes to tight end Luke Farrell and straight-ahead running by Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. It should have been an easy touchdown, but Bigsby lost a fumble going into the end zone.
- Lawrence had a very good night. He hit Christian Kirk over the middle on a fourth-and-6 play early in the second quarter to convert. Three plays later, Lawrence had his best throw of the preseason, a gorgeous fade down the left sideline that Calvin Ridley pulled in and scraped his feet inbounds before sailing out. The play went for 28 yards and survived a Miami challenge. Etienne punched it in from the 3 for a 7-3 Jaguars lead. Lawrence was done after that. He finished 8 of 10 for 92 yards. Ridley was sharp, too. He had 50 yards on three catches.
- The opening half had some excellent play from the non-starters, too. Rookies Erick Hallett and Yasir Abdullah both had interceptions, with Hallett’s diving grab and toe drag the defensive play of the half. Abdullah had an easy pick with Skyler Thompson’s throw right into his jersey numbers. Those interceptions, both off Thompson, led to a D’Ernest Johnson touchdown run and a Brandon McManus field goal.
The ground game
- Bigsby’s fumble was the lone blemish on an otherwise sizzling opening half by its top three backs. Etienne, Bigsby and Johnson combined for 102 yards on 19 carries and a pair of touchdowns. That’s a 5.4-yard per carry average, largely behind the starting offensive line. Heading into Indianapolis in Week 1, those three appear to be locked in to the top three spots without much question.
The big decisions
- Now, it’s time for the final decisions. Jacksonville must be at the NFL’s 53-player limit by Tuesday at 4 p.m. That means 37 players will be waived to get to the that limit. What are some of the biggest roster decisions facing the Jaguars? Does Jacksonville keep five or six receivers? Will the recent rash of injuries on the offensive line force it to keep 10 or 11 players there? Are any starting positions up for grabs?
- The receiver questions will come down to Tim Jones, Parker Washington, Elijah Cooks and Jacob Harris. Washington’s spot as the No. 5 receiver seems safe because of his work as a backup return man to Jamal Agnew. Pederson kept six receivers last year, but Kendric Pryor was never active for a game. So it’s realistically three players chasing one receiver spot.