Woeful start in South Florida
Fitzpatrick struggles mightily vs. Jaguars, forcing Flores to re-evaluate starting job
MIAMI — Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores may have to go back to the drawing board in his quarterback competition.
Wily veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick had an opportunity to seize the Dolphins’ starting quarterback job outright from Josh Rosen, but a poor outing Thursday night leading Miami’s first-team offense may have Flores second-guessing his initial option in the competition.
Fitzpatrick’s first four drives of Thursday’s preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars netted only 10 yards for the Dolphins offense, all ending quickly with punts to the other side of Hard Rock Stadium.
No drive lasted longer than five plays. No drive gained more than 25 yards, but, two drives resulted in field goals. The Dolphins gained only 47 yards in the first half.
Fitzpatrick finished the first half, completing 5 of 11 passes for just 33 yards and a 52.5 passer rating.
“We would’ve liked to start faster,” Flores said. “That’s a good defense we’re playing against. They’ve got some speed that we had to deal with on the D-line, at the linebacker level. They made some plays defensively. … It’s a 60-minute ballgame, and that’s what I preached to them, so hopefully we put some drives together here in the second half and punch one of these in.”
Fitzpatrick did lead the Dolphins to a touchdown drive on Miami’s first series of the third quarter.
Despite Fitzpatrick’s uneven performance in the third preseason game — typically considered a dress rehearsal for firstteam offenses and defenses before the regular-season opener — it’s unclear what Rosen would have done in the same situation.
While Flores has nitpicked Rosen’s shortcomings through two preseason games, Fitzpatrick should earn his fair share of criticism following his performance against the Jaguars.
The Dolphins offensive line continued to struggle, as it has all preseason. It may have played without standout left tackle Laremy Tunsil, a healthy scratch, but Jaguars rookie defensive end/ outside linebacker Josh Allen — the seventh pick in April’s draft — was unquestionably the best player on the field Thursday night, wreaking havoc on Miami’s protection.
Allen and Jaguars standout Myles Jack made it difficult for Dolphins rookie guards Michael Deiter, a third-round pick from Wisconsin, and Shaq Calhoun, undrafted out of Mississippi State, while third-year veteran Jesse Davis struggled as he continues his transition from right guard to right tackle.
On the Dolphins’ best drive of the first half — featuring Fitzpatrick’s longest pass, a 28-yard completion to tight end Mike Gesicki, aided by a roughing-thepasser penalty that allowed Miami to reach the 9-yard line — they failed to score a touchdown.
Instead, Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins offense finished the drive 10 yards behind the closest they could reach the end zone, spoiling cornerback Eric Rowe’s interception of Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles on the previous drive. Kicker Jason Sanders kicked a 40-yard field goal, the first of his two conversions to get Miami on the board.
Fitzpatrick also been sharper.
The Dolphins’ first drive was a three-and-out featuring three incompletions: an overthrown pass to the left side on first down, a broken-up pass to tight end Durham Smythe and a miss on the outside to rookie receiver Preston Williams.
On a later drive, Fitzpatrick had Williams streaking past Jaguars standout cornerback Jalen Ramsey, but he underthrew the pass.
Along with Fitzpatrick’s miscues, the Dolphins offense was unable to shake starting running back Kalen Ballage free during the first half.
Ballage, starting in place of injured running back Kenyan Drake, finished the first half with 12 carries for 17 yards. His longest run went for 11 yards.
The Dolphins trailed 7-6 at half. could have