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    Dolphins vs. Jaguars last-minute injury report, Vegas spread: Byron Jones, DJ Chark, Josh Lambo 3 key players inactive

    Big-money Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones and Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo will miss Thursday's game in Jacksonville.
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    While last Thursday's Bengals-Browns last-minute injury report was about 14 players deep, this week's for the Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars Sunshine State matchup isn't close to as long. For the Fins, the most important player who will sit is big-ticket free-agent cornerback Byron Jones, while the Jags will not have kicker Josh Lambo, who has landed on injured reserve, or top wideout DJ Chark (that was a surprise). Jacksonville is a 3-point favorite on the NFL odds.

    In March, the Dolphins signed Jones, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, to a monstrous five-year, $82.5 million contract with $57 million guaranteed. At the time it was the largest guaranteed contract ever for a defensive back, but it has since been surpassed.

    Jones only had two interceptions in his five seasons with the Cowboys, but last year opposing quarterbacks completed just 53% of their passes directed at Jones. He doesn't have big numbers this season, either, with four tackles and not a single pass defensed. Jones injured his groin in Week 2.

    Miami has one of the NFL's worst pass defenses in allowing 276.5 yards per game and an opposing QB rating of 131.1 that is the league's worst. Ditto the 10.6 yards per attempt allowed. Losing Jones certainly won't help and could mean a big night for Jags QB Gardner Minshew. His 115.7 rating is seventh in the NFL and his six TDs passes tied for second.

    As for the Jaguars' Lambo, he wasn't listed on the team's injury report Monday but now will miss at least three games with a hip injury that landed him in IR. He's among the best kickers in the league. Lambo was an amazing 33-for-34 on field goals last year (long of 56) and 19-for-20 on PATs. He was 3-for-3 on field goals in 2020 (long of 50) and 6-for-7 on PATs.

    In game with such a small spread, his absence could be huge. Rookie Brandon Wright has been promoted from the practice squad and takes over Thursday. Wright went undrafted out of Georgia State in April after going 12-for-18 for the Panthers on field goals in 2019. Jacksonville center Brandon Linder also will sit.

    Meanwhile, in late Thursday afternoon surprising news, Chark was ruled out (chest/back). He had been listed as questionable but was "trending" toward playing as of Thursday morning, according to reports. Chark has seven catches for 109 yards and a TD this season. Keelan Cole is trending right now on Twitter as he could be the main beneficiary in terms of targets with Chark out. 

    Sportsbooks dislike spreads that close at -3 as much as regular bettors (no one profits from a push). It's not out of the question some late sharp money comes in on Miami to drop this to -2.5. Bettors early in the week hammered the Jags at that number, pushing it to -3. The Over also has been crushed by bettors, jumping the total from an open of 44 to 48.5 at William Hill sportsbook.

    Who wins every NFL game this week? And which teams cover more than 50 percent of the time? Get picks here from the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks.

    SportsLine Staff

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