Sunday, December 16, 2012

Week 15 AFC East game picks: Jaguars at Dolphins

Lead writer Nick St. Denis and AFC East Daily contributors Dan Begnoche and Sean Donovan pick the Miami Dolphins' in-state contest with the AFC's Jacksonville Jaguars.

Nick's take:
The injury-depleted Jaguars get receiver Cecil Shorts back, but that won't be enough. Without Maurice Jones-Drew and a run defense on the other side, Jacksonville isn't much of a threat to anyone. With receiver Davone Bess missing his first career game coupled with the Jags' awful run defense, the Dolphins will run the ball at a 2:1 ratio.
Prediction: Dolphins 20, Jaguars 10 (Nick's record: 32-10)

Sean's take:
The Jaguars have lost the first two of their four consecutive games against AFC East opposition. They drop a third, as Miami's pass rush stifles Henne and Jacksonville's porous defense allows the Dolphins' tailbacks to control the game. And perhaps just for old time's sake, the Sun Life Stadium crowd gets to see Henne walk away a loser one more time.
Prediction: Dolphins 27, Jaguars 10 (Sean's record: 32-10)

Dan's take:
The Dolphins have lost five of their last six, but a game against Jacksonville might be exactly what the team needs. The Jags' offense and defense are both ranked in the bottom third in the league, and the team has seen back-to-back losses against AFC East teams the past two weeks. Look for Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas to pads their stats this week against a bad rush defense.
Prediction: Dolphins 24, Jaguars 20 (Dan's record: 25-17)