Miami Dolphins Beat Jaguars 27-13, Turnovers Key

Turnovers tell the tale of the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-27 loss to the Miami Dolphins in the NFL’s week eight. Jaguars rookie quarterback Blake Bortles, guilty of two interceptions and a fumble, led the way for the Miami Dolphins to remain in the game and, ultimately, put it to bed with late game offensive drives.

14 points were given to the Miami Dolphins through two interceptions returned for touchdowns. These 14 points, paired with a field goal gained after a Bortles fumble, were the only highlights to an otherwise disastrous first half for the Dolphins. The 81 yard return for a touchdown at 14:46 in the second quarter by Louis Delmas left points on the table for the Jaguars and gave the Dolphins the lead that they never relinquished.

The 43 yard field goal, kicked through with 58 seconds left in the second quarter put the Dolphins up 10-3 to end the half. The Dolphins had to drive 52 yards on 11 plays to get in range after the Jaguars were threatening once again. Bortles had the misfortune of losing the ball on a run in which he should have slid but instead found the ball removed from behind.

The third score for the Dolphins came on a 22 yard interception return for a touchdown by Brent Grimes with 12:16 left in the third quarter. Bortles’ third major mistake of the night was his last, but saw the Dolphins take a commanding 17-3 lead when the Jaguars continued to fail to capitalize on their drives. The Jags wouldn’t be able to drive effectively again until late in the fourth quarter, finally getting a touchdown on a long connection between Allen Robinson and Blake Bortles with 2:19 left to play.

These three major turnovers were enough to put the Jaguars away in this game, especially after the offense sputtered to a half in the second half. The Miami Dolphins were fortunate to gain them and limit the Jaguars to just three point (they had one blocked field goal and one field goal negated by penalty) despite strong drives by the Jaguars. With the turnovers sustaining them, the Dolphins were able to find their legs late and put the game out of reach with a nine play field goal drive in the fourth quarter and a seven play touchdown drive late in the third.

Blake Bortles is still very much a rookie and needs to develop quickly so the strong play of the defense is not in vain.