All three Florida NFL teams will be in action this week as the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers aim for consecutive wins to start the season and the Miami Dolphins try for their first win.
The Jaguars (1-0) opened the season with a convincing 26-10 win over the Carolina Panthers. Jacksonville travels to Cincinnati to face the Bengals on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
Jacksonville’s running game led the way last week behind 143 rushing yards by Travis Etienne, his second-best day as a professional. Etienne’s backup, Tank Bigsby, was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles this week, opening the door for rookies Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen to play bigger roles.
Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun earned AFC defensive player of the week honors with an interception, forced fumble and 10 tackles. He was limited in practice this week but head coach Liam Coen said Friday that he expects Oluokun to play.
The Jaguars have not started a season 2-0 since 2018, when they were coached by Doug Marrone.
The Bengals began the season with a 17-16 win in Cleveland against the Browns despite only 113 passing yards by quarterback Joe Burrow.
The Dolphins host the Patriots (1 p.m. ET, CBS) after both teams lost on opening weekend.
Miami was blown out in the opener, losing 33-8 to the Colts in Indianapolis. It was the first opening weekend victory for the Colts in a dozen years. Tua Tagovailoa was intercepted twice and passed for 114 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel called his quarterback’s play “less than to be desired.”
The game is the first of three straight division games for the Dolphins.
New England lost at home to the Las Vegas Raiders 20-13 to start the season. Quarterback Drake Maye threw for 287 yards and a touchdown in the victory.
Tampa Bay (1-0) overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-20. Baker Mayfield hit rookie wide receiver Emmanuel Egbuka on a 25-yard touchdown with 59 seconds remaining to earn the win.
On Monday, the Buccaneers will face the Texans in Houston (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Texans lost the season opener to the Rams 14-9.
Houston is already dealing with injury issues, especially at wide receiver, where both Braxton Berrios and Christian Kirk missed time in practice with hamstring injuries. Similarly, Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin was limited in practice with an ankle injury, and starting offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs was limited with a knee injury.
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