MIAMI (AP) -- Daunte Culpepper's teammates slapped him on the
back as he came out of the game -- the only blows the Dolphins' new
quarterback would absorb in his brief Miami debut.
Culpepper settled for one 2-yard completion, while the
Jacksonville Jaguars completed four touchdown passes of 50 yards or
more to beat Miami 31-26 in the exhibition opener for both teams
Saturday night.
Backup David Garrard connected on scores of 62 and 55 yards for
the Jaguars, whose three quarterbacks netted 321 yards passing.
Culpepper tested his surgically repaired knee by playing one
series, throwing two passes and directing his new team to a field
goal.
"It felt great," he said. "You get those first little jitters
out after the first play, and you're back into the game situation
and game mold. It felt good to get my feet wet a little bit."
Miami's other new quarterback, Joey Harrington, completed his
first pass to Randy McMichael for an 18-yard touchdown. Harrington
later fumbled twice, bobbling a snap that the Jaguars' Tony
Williams recovered to set up a field goal.
"We did some good things, and we did some first-game things,"
Harrington said.
Jacksonville's first-team offense sputtered until Miami began
substituting on defense. The Jaguars' Byron Leftwich, playing for
the first time since a broken ankle sidelined him for the final
five games last season, threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Matt Jones.
"We didn't start very well," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said.
"We settled down a little bit at the end of the half and got some
things going and looked a little bit better."
Chad Owens, battling for a roster spot with the Jaguars, beat
the Dolphins deep to catch a 62-yard touchdown pass. Second-round
draft pick Maurice Jones-Drew caught a short pass from Garrard and
wove through the secondary to complete a 55-yard TD.
Jacksonville's final score came on a 51-yard pass from Quinn Gray to George Wrighster.
Miami's first-round pick, safety Jason Allen, was on the field
for Jacksonville's first three touchdown completions. He played
only four days after ending a 10-day holdout.
The Dolphins mounted a strong pass rush against Leftwich and
knocked him down several times, but Culpepper never came close to
absorbing a hit. While he has yet to miss a practice in training
camp, the game was his first exposure to contact since a knee
injury ended his 2005 season with the Minnesota Vikings last
October.
"I had a vision of seeing myself being ready for this first
preseason game from the time I got hurt," Culpepper said. "It was
very important to me to go out and show I'm ready to play."
Culpepper took six snaps, four of which were running plays. He
missed Chris Chambers open over the middle on a short pattern and
hit McMichael for 2 yards on third-and-7. Olindo Mare then kicked a
52-yard field goal.
Harrington played the rest of the first half and finished
10-for-19 for 99 yards.
Leftwich, who threw only five interceptions last season, was
picked off on the Jaguars' second series by Eddie Jackson. Two
plays later, Harrington threw to McMichael in the end zone for a
touchdown and a 10-0 lead.
Leftwich played most of the first half and finished 6-for-12 for
100 yards. He connected on a long pass to Jones, who beat Dolphins
newcomer Will Allen for a score in the second quarter.
"We have a lot of work to do on offense, but it was great to
get that much work," Leftwich said.
He was replaced by Garrard, who went 6-for-11 for 172 yards.
With Josh Scobee sidelined by a leg strain, Seth Marler did all
the place-kicking for the Jaguars and made a 21-yard field goal.
Jacksonville re-signed him this week.
Cleo Lemon, Miami's third-string quarterback, directed a 15-play
drive in his first series that led to a field goal and threw a
21-yard touchdown pass to Jason Willis.
Undrafted rookie Marcus Vick, a former Virginia Tech quarterback
trying to make the transition to receiver, caught two passes from
Lemon for 12 yards.
Game notes
Dolphins DE Jason Taylor, limited in practice this week
because of a sore back, was among those not dressing. ... Jaguars
rookie third-string DB Jamaal Fudge had a sack and 11 tackles,
eight of them unassisted.