Miami gets solid efforts from offense and defense in rout

JACKSONVILLE

Just consider the first two weeks preseason.

The Miami Dolphins many inside the building expected in 2020 finally showed up — just a little late.

A devastating, overwhelming, physical evening by the Dolphins’ offense — and yes, even their defense — resulted in a 31-13 victory Thursday.

Season saved.

Season just beginning? And as for that Tua talk?

Tagovailoa will remain on the bench ... at least for now.

There’s simply no rationale for pulling Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Not after he completed 12 consecutive passes (including two touchdowns) to start the game, and 21 in a row dating to last week.

Not after he fired up his sideline with bulldozertype runs — and even blocks. (He put the game away with a 1-yard touchdown plunge late in the third quarter.)

Not after he won the Beard Bowl, out-classing his much, much junior headliner, Gardner Minshew.

Not after he went 18 of 20 for 160 passing yards and two touchdowns and

touchdown passes and ran for another score, to make a statement for his team almost immediately after kickoff. That statement would be something akin to this:

This is my team. And my team is not going quietly into the night in 2020.

Now Tua Tagovailoa may have a wait a little while longer than all the TV pundits speculated on their nationally telecast pregame shows.

There’s nothing Fitzpatrick could do in one game that would make anyone forget he is the placeholder for Tagovailoa. And the Dolphins will eventually hand the reins of the offense to their top draft pick.

But not yet. Not any time soon, perhaps.

Because while Tagovailoa may be the player to some day carry the Dolphins, it was Fitzpatrick who did much of the heavy lifting Thursday.

Consider:

Fitzpatrick completed 18 of 20 passes for an efficient 160 yards to keep the Miami offense moving much of the night.

He completed his first 12 consecutive passes of the game. And that gave him 21 straight completions over the last two games. It wasn’t until the final minute of the first half, when the Dolphins were hurrying to add to their lead that a Fitzpatrick pass flew slightly behind tight end Mike Gesicki and fell incomplete.

Riding Fitzpatrick’s scorching early completion streak, the Dolphins built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. It had to be discouraging for the Jaguars to yield 12 first downs in the first quarter as offensive coordinator Chan Gailey struck a nice balance between Fitzpatrick’s throws and a running attack featuring three different running backs.

For the Dolphins, that 12-firstdown first quarter was historic in that they had never had more than 10 first-quarter first downs in any game dating back to 1992.

The Dolphins led 21-7 by halftime.

“Fitz is hot,” Jaguars coach Doug Marrone told FOX Sports’ Erin Andrews at halftime.

And, yes, credit also goes to a Dolphins defense that didn’t stink as it had the previous two games. This defense played softer in the secondary to avoid the roasting it suffered last week and that worked. This defense showed much more pressure on Jacksonville quarterback Gardner Minshew than it did on either Cam Newton or Josh Allen the previous two games.

So this defense definitely showed signs of growth.

And unlike last week when Fitzpatrick couldn’t keep up with Allen, this game he was the best quarterback on the field.

He threw touchdown passes to Preston Williams and Mike Gesicki. He scored from 1 yard out on a third-quarter keeper right up the middle.

The touchdown pass to Williams came on a slant pass into the end zone. The slant has been a staple for Fitzpatrick so far, as that one accounted for his seventh completion in eight attempts on the route this season. It was also Fitz’s first touchdown without and interception on the slant, according the Next Gen stats.

The Dolphins quarterback also did uniquely Fitz things like when he handed off to running back Myles Gaskin early in the game and then seemed to lead block for Gaskin downfield. In the fourth quarter, he tried a pass, but when the ball was batted back to him, Fitzpatrick caught it and decided to run.

Fitz, Miami’s second-leading rusher, finished the night with 38 rushing yards on six carries.

This had to be a gratifying night for Fitzpatrick.

Remember that there was some banter between him and Minshew before the game. Fitz, who sports an epic beard, playfully said many guys who wear mustaches do so because they cannot fill in around their face to complete the full beard effect.

Minshew, who’s mustache has become his trademark, seemingly took that personally. And he defended his ability to fill in for a beard while adding he chose not to. He also said referring to Fitzpatrick that he’d be respectful of his elders, especially when they’re “much, much elder.”

Fitzpatrick, 37 years old and the only player on the Dolphins over 30, answered by playing as if defending the honor of bearded men and 30-somethings everywhere.

The beard was better than the ‘stache.

Age outplayed youth.

So where does this leave the Dolphins? Had they gone 0-forSeptember, this space would be about the season narrative turning to Tagovailoa’s development. It would be about setting a timetable for Tagovailoa’s first start.

At 0-3 with three conference losses, that would be the most compelling things left to decide in 2020.

Instead, the Dolphins have life. Thank Ryan Fitzpatrick.