Miami

Week 8 Preview: Dolphins at Jaguars

The Dolphins will try to win back-to-back games for the first time this season on Sunday

The Miami Dolphins will seek a second straight win on Sunday when they battle the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Picking up two wins in a row is something that has plagued Miami this year but the Jaguars offer a good opportunity to complete the task. Jacksonville is one of the worst teams in the entire NFL with their 1-6 record. That one win came last week but it was over the last place Cleveland Browns.

After winning their first game of the season, Miami lost two in a row. It then followed that with a decisive win over Oakland only to fall in heartbreaking fashion to the Green Bay Packers. Then last week, the Dolphins picked up a huge victory over the Bears in Chicago. The win over the Bears was important for Miami coming off the last second loss to the Packers. It was a boost in morale for the team as well as a boost in the standings.

Ryan Tannehill had an explosive game in Chicago throwing 25 of his 32 passes for completions and his first half was even more exceptional. The quarterback completed his first 14 pass attempts of the game and ended up with 277 yards and two touchdowns on the day. That was just the air attack for Tannehill as he also rushed for 48 yards in the game.

It's unlikely that Tannehill will post numbers as good as that for a second straight week but he may not need to. As long as the third year QB can avoid turning the ball over, the Dolphins should be able to walk off with a victory. The game in Chicago was only the second time this season that Tannehill avoided throwing at least one interception.

Dion Jordan should return on Sunday following his drug suspension. Jordan has missed the entire regular season thus far and is unlikely to play a big role in his first game back. As of yet, Miami has not made a necessary roster move in order to activate Jordan. If the team opts to not do so, Jordan would remain inactive until next week's game.

As has been the case for much of the season, Lamar Miller's production will be critical to the outcome of the game. The running back who has been cemented into the primary running role has continued to be an asset since taking over for Knowshon Moreno. Miller has outperformed many expectations and will need to continue to do so with Moreno gone for the season due to a torn ACL.

At 3-3, Miami is in third place in the AFC East but a win on Sunday would go a long way in its hopes of making a return to the postseason. A 4-3 record would keep the Dolphins right in the thick of things for both the division and the wild card race with nine games to go.

The game against Jacksonville will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday

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