Senior Writer John Oehser Breaks Down the Jacksonville Jaguars 2024 Schedule

JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser takes a week-by-week look at the Jaguars’ 2024 schedule, which was announced Wednesday night by the NFL

Miami Dolphins (11-6, 2023 second in AFC East) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., 1 p.m., CBS

• Breakdown: What’s a safe prediction these days? That the Jaguars will open the season outside Jacksonville. This marks the fourth consecutive season the Jaguars have opened on the road. They opened at the Houston Texans in 2021, at the Washington Commanders in 2022 and at the Indianapolis Colts in 2023 with their victory over the Colts snapping a two-game season-opening losing streak. The ’24 opener marks the beginning of a difficult early-season schedule for the Jaguars, with their first four games against 2023 postseason teams and their first five games against teams with winning records last season. Three of the first four games are on the road. The Dolphins likely will enter 2024 as a postseason and AFC East favorite – and will be a test for the Jaguars’ defense under first-year coordinator Ryan Nielsen. The Dolphins led the NFL in total yards and were second in points in 2023. The Jaguars lead the series 6-5 and are 2-1 on the road against the Dolphins.

Cleveland Browns (11-6, 2023 second in AFC North) at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, 1 p.m., CBS

• Breakdown: This is the second game in what appears to be a difficult stretch to start the season, and it’s the Jaguars’ only 2024 regular-season game against the AFC North. The Browns were one of the AFC’s best teams in the second half of 2023, qualifying for the postseason as a wild-card entrant with a four-game late-season winning streak that began with a Week 14 31-27 victory over the Jaguars in Cleveland. That was part of a late-season slide for the Jaguars in which they lost five of six games. This is one of just two games for the Jaguars in Jacksonville in the first seven weeks of the season. The Jaguars lead the…