Dissecting Crucial Matchups in Miami Dolphins' Week 8 Contest with Jacksonville

There aren't many people questioning whether or not the Miami Dolphins are a good team coming off their dominant Week 7 performance against the Chicago Bears.

However, what many people are wondering is if the Dolphins are capable of becoming a consistently good team, putting together rock-solid performances in back-to-back games.

That is the question Miami must answer when they visit the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars this week.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars are also trying to build some momentum, looking to make it two straight victories after they knocked off the Cleveland Browns 24-6 to earn their first win of the season last week.

The Jaguars appear to be a team on the rise with an extremely young roster, led by rookie quarterback Blake Bortles, and a defense that has held three consecutive opponents to under 20 points for the first time since 2007, per Jaguars.com.

But with that said, there is also no reason the Dolphins shouldn't come away with a victory this week.

While the Jaguars may be good in the future, they are certainly not good now, as evidenced by their 1-6 record and the fact that they have been outscored by a league-worst 86 points on the year.

Let's take a look at some of the game's most crucial matchups that the Dolphins will need to win if they hope to avoid the upset in Jacksonville.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Blake Bortles vs. Dolphins Pass Rush

If there is one thing a young quarterback (or any quarterback for that matter) hates, it's a fierce pass rush that constantly puts pressure on them and never lets them get comfortable in the pocket.

Bortles has had a rough season since taking over for Chad Henne in Week 3, and the Dolphins defensive line should make things worse for him this week.

While he hasn't been good in most scenarios, it's clear that Bortles gets even worse when under pressure.

When heat gets put on him, his quarterback rating drops from 73.8 to 58.4 and his completion percentage plummets from 69.2 percent to 53.7 percent, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

He has also been extremely prone to turnovers this year, throwing 10 interceptions in five games while throwing at least two picks four different times.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins' pass rush of Cameron Wake, Olivier Vernon and company continued to carry the load in their Week 7 victory over Chicago, putting pressure on Jay Cutler 13 times while sacking him on three occasions.

The team is also expecting the return of Dion Jordan from suspension this week, adding yet another weapon to defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle's arsenal.  

If they can get to Bortles the way they got after Cutler, it should turn into a long and painful day for the rookie.

David Banks/Getty Images

Ryan Tannehill vs. Jacksonville Secondary

When it comes to Tannehill, the No. 1 concern has been his lack of consistency. One game he looks like a franchise quarterback, and the next he looks like a guy that doesn't even deserve a starting job.

Consistently good play from week-to-week—or even from half-to-half—has been a problem throughout his career. He dominated the Oakland Raiders to the tune of 278 yards and two touchdowns in Week 4 and then followed that up by throwing two interceptions in the first half against the Green Bay Packers in Week 5.

However, Tannehill has now strung six straight quarters of exceptional football together and is finally looking like the player Dolphins fans hoped he could be. Over his last six quarters, Tannehill has been blistering hot, completing 37-of-47 passes for 424 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.

Aside from that bad first half against Green Bay, he has played nearly flawless football in his last three games and has appeared to have taken that next step, as mentioned by Pete Prisco of CBS:

He should make it four straight games this week when going up against a Jacksonville secondary that leaves a lot to be desired.

The Jaguars have been ripped to shreds by opposing quarterbacks this season, allowing 280 yards per game with 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions for a 100 quarterback rating, via ESPN.

While the Jacksonville defensive line has been able to put pressure on the quarterback—ranking second in the league with 22 sacks—the secondary has simply been too atrocious for it to matter much.

The Jaguars are the type of team that good quarterbacks should roll over, and the way Tannehill has been playing, there's no reason to think that he won't do the same.

David Banks/Getty Images

Lamar Miller vs. Jacksonville Defensive Line

As previously mentioned, the Jaguars defensive line has been one of the lone bright spots on an otherwise weak defense.

Not only are they at the top of the league in sacks, but they have also been much better against the run recently, holding three of their last four opponents to under 70 yards on the ground. 

This unit—led by tackles Roy Miller, Sen'Derrick Marks and defensive end Red Bryant—is coming off their best performance of the season in which they held a Browns team that was ranked third in the league in rushing to just 69 yards on 30 carries.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins enter the week ranked fourth in the league in rushing, averaging 136.3 yards per game on the ground.

Lamar Miller has been the bell cow of this unit, leading the team in rushing in each of the last five games despite having his yards per attempt drop off the last two weeks.

The Dolphins certainly hope to jump ahead early in this game, and if that happens, they will need to be able to rely on Miller to produce against a stout Jaguars front line in order to grind out the clock—and the victory.

Prediction

In theory, this is a game similar to Week 4 against the Raiders in which Miami should jump ahead early and roll to an easy victory.

The main concern, though, is that the Dolphins have a tendency of getting the fans' hopes up before ultimately laying an egg and losing to a team they should beat.

However, the team is simply playing too well right now and Tannehill and the rest of the offense is too hot under Bill Lazor's game-planning for me to see the Jaguars pulling off the upset.

It won't be as big a blowout as the Raiders game, but the Dolphins will still win convincingly as they pull away late. 

Dolphins 34, Jaguars 17

Andrew Tornetta is the Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Check out his B/R archive and stay updated on his latest articles by becoming a fan.

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