Tagovailoa’s return not enough as Dolphins lose to Jaguars in London, fifth straight defeat

The more and more the Dolphins’ game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London went on, the more they resembled a team whose record truly did make them worthy of being lumped with Jacksonville, one of two teams who entered Week 6 with a winless record.

And after Sunday’s game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they’re identical teams with 1-5 records.

Miami blew a 10-point first-half lead — one that should have probably been larger — in a 23-20 loss to the Jaguars. Jacksonville kicker Matthew Wright made a 43-yard field goal as time expired to give Jacksonville its first win since Week 1 of the 2019 season.

In his first game since fracturing his ribs in Week 2, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa showed flashes of the franchise player many hope he can. He also showed how much room for growth he has in his nascent career.

His first series was reminiscent of the team’s Week 1 win over the Patriots: sharp, decisive and fruitful. Tagovailoa drove the offense 75 yards down the field in 13 plays, punctuated by a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, his first of two in the game.

He threw for 329 yards, the third time in his career he’s passed the 300-yard mark. He also threw a bad third-quarter interception to Jaguars cornerback Nevin Lawson, one play after defensive lineman Christian Wilkins strip-sacked Trevor Lawrence and Zach Sieler recovered the ball with the team down 17-13.

But he showed his resilience, too. Given another chance after the defense stopped James Robinson short on a fourth-down run deep in the red zone, Tagovailoa completed all six of his attempts and took the Dolphins 91 yards down the field, capped with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Waddle to take a 20-17 lead.

However, it wasn’t enough. Up 23-20 and facing a fourth-and-1, Malcolm brown was stuffed on a run. With five seconds left, the Jaguars picked up a first down while Miami was in a prevent defense. Wright would soon jog onto the field and nail the kick, giving the crowd a rousing end to the game after a year without international NFL matches.

This story will be updated.