The Miami Dolphins got positive contributions from veterans and young players but ultimately fell 31-18 to the Jacksonville Jaguars Saturday night at EverBank Stadium in the team's preseason finale.
The game was suspended by mutual agreement of both teams with 8:32 remaining in the fourth quarter after Dolphins wide receiver Daewood Davis was injured.
He's magnetic. He's got a cool personality to him," Head Coach Mike McDaniel said. "He is a guy that his teammates really root for. That tells you everything about a human being because you can't, in a locker room of individuals that spend so much time together, there's no hiding the good things and the bad things.
"We're just hoping for a full recovery and have had some good news and hope to have some even better news moving forward," McDaniel added.
After Miami's opening drive stalled, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa led the offense on an 11-play, 74-yard scoring drive. It started with a 15-yard completion to wide receiver Robbie Chosen. A 42-yard run from running back Salvon Ahmed moved the ball to the Jacksonville seven-yard line before Jason Sanders connected on a 24-yard field goal to give the Dolphins an early 3-0 lead.
Safety Jevon Holland stopped Jacksonville's opening possession with a forced fumble and fumble recovery on the goal line, but the Jaguars responded with 17 points over their next three possessions.
Their first score came on a three-yard touchdown run from running back Travis Etienne Jr. Brandon McManus then knocked in a 37-yard field goal and running back D'Ernest Johnson scored on a seven-yard run to give Jacksonville a 17-3 lead with 3:11 to play in the half.
Jason Sanders hit a 28-yard field goal with 37 seconds left to cut the deficit to 17-6 heading into halftime.
On the second play of the second half, Jaguars quarterback C.J. Beathard found wide receiver Tim Jones for a 74-yard touchdown. Dolphins rookie running back Chris Brooks then answered with a four-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 24-12.
After Jaguars running back JaMychal Hasty scored on an eight-yard run, Brooks found the end zone once again on another four-yard score to bring Jacksonville's lead to 31-18 with 13:05 left on the clock.
Tagovailoa, who played the entire first quarter, finished 4-of-6 for 67 yards while Skylar Thompson went 15-of-24 for 135 yards. Ahmed led the way with 43 of the team's 124 rushing yards and wide receiver River Cracraft recorded a co-game-high five receptions for 52 yards.
Beathard and Jaguars starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence each finished the night 8-of-10 and combined for 226 passing yards.
Miami begins the 2023 regular season on the road at SoFi Stadium where they will take on the Los Angeles Chargers. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 10 and will be broadcast live on CBS.
