Jaguars vs. Dolphins: Ex-Jaguars Calais Campbell, Jalen Ramsey hurt, helped their former team

The Jacksonville Jaguars were stopped cold on their first offensive possession, then drove 96 yards on their second on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins .

In both cases, ex-Jaguars who started on the Miami defense played key roles.

The Jaguars lost 14 yards on their first turn with the ball at Hard Rock Stadium and it was all due to two plays by Calais Campbell, a 17-year NFL veteran now with his fifth NFL team.

Campbell, dubbed "The Mayor of Sacksonville," during his three years with the Jaguars from 2017-2019 (he had 31.5 sacks during that time), sacked Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on his first offensive play in the 2024 season, throwing him for a 13-yard loss. On the next play, Campbell nailed running back Travis Etienne for a 1-yard loss and the Jaguars had to punt.

Jalen Ramsey got burned by Jags rookie Brian Thomas Jr.

The Jaguars defense held but Miami punter Jake Bailey put the ball out of bounds at the Jags' 4. Tank Bigsby gave the team breathing room with gains of 17 and 8 yards and Lawrence completed a 19-yard pass to Gabe Davis and scrambled for 8 yards for a first down at the Dolphins' 40.

Enter Jalen Ramsey, who played for the Jaguars from 2016 to 2019 (he played only three games in the latter season), who last week signed a contract extension making him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history at $24.1 million per year but was questionable until game time with a hamstring injury.

Lawrence sent rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., deep and put the ball right on the money, in the end zone. Ramsey, covering Thomas one-on-one, was flagged for pass interference, putting the ball on the Dolphins' 1-yard line. Etienne scored on the next play for a 7-0 lead that held through the end of the quarter.

Jalen Ramsey gets burned again by the rookie

Thomas caught a 14-yard TD pass from Lawrence with 6:28 left in the second quarter, with a beautiful example of keeping both feet in bounds at the back of the end zone.

The Dolphins were in a zone but Lawrence lofted it over Ramsey and Jordan Poyer and Ramsey was in position to make a play — but didn't. Thomas' first NFL touchdown gave the Jaguars 14-0 lead.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars vs. Dolphins: Ex-Jaguars Calais Campbell, Jalen Ramsey hurt, helped their former team