Jacksonville backup quarterback Luke McCown showed his team the way to the end zone and a 19-13 preseason victory over Tampa Bay Saturday night.

Jacksonville moved the ball consistently with starter David Garrard at quarterback. But it settled for field goals on three promising drives and had its best possession of the night turned back by a goal-line interception that linebacker Barrett Ruud returned 80 yards to set up Tampa Bay’s only touchdown.

Garrard played into the third quarter and completed 24 of 31 passes for 211 yards and one interception. He completed 15 of his first 17 passes for 134 yards and was 4 of 4 in marching the Jaguars into scoring position.

McCown gave the Jaguars some relief from their frustration, throwing a 27-yard TD pass to John Matthews on his first attempt of the night to put Jacksonville up 16-13 late in the third quarter. Josh Scobee’s fourth field goal provided the final margin of victory.

The Jaguars played without running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who sat out three days of practice last week and did not make the trip to Tampa. The Pro Bowler’s agent said the fifth-year pro is not injured and that the Jaguars were holding him out of the final two preseason games for "precautionary reasons."

Jacksonville was also without all three starting linebackers — Daryl Smith, Kirk Morrison and Justin Durant. Tight end Marcedes Lewis left in the first half with a sprained ankle and did not return.

Miami Dolphins QB Chad Henne probably wishes he could play every game in Jacksonville.

Eight months after picking apart the Jaguars in the regular season, Henne did it again in a preseason game Saturday night. Henne completed 11 of 14 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, and the Dolphins beat the Jaguars 27-26 in a game delayed 1 hour, 45 minutes by a thunderstorm.

Although Henne was sacked on his first play Saturday - Jaguars newcomers Tyson Alualu and Aaron Kampman combined on the tackle - he rebounded and led the Dolphins (2-0) on three straight scoring drives.

Henne got Miami to the 6-yard line, but Gerald Alexander batted down his third-down pass at the goal line. The Dolphins settled for a field goal, but Henne was just getting started.

He hooked up with Anthony Fasano for a 55-yard TD play on the next possession, then found Fasano again for an 11-yard score. Fasano got a big block from receiver Brandon Marshall on the long reception. Marshall took out two defenders on the play, springing Fasano for an untouched sprint to the end zone.

Marshall finished with four catches for 65 yards. He also dropped one, giving him three in two preseason games.

Backup Chad Pennington kept Miami rolling. He found Marshall down the sideline for a 37-yard gain, then hooked up with Ronnie Brown for a 10-yard score with 37 seconds remaining in the first half. That put Miami ahead 24-12.

Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard completed six of eight passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. He hooked up with Mike Sims-Walker for 35 yards, then again for 22 more. Those helped set up Garrard's 2-yard TD pass to Mike Thomas.

It turned out to be Garrard's lone highlight.

Garrard got the wind knocked out of him on Jacksonville's next possession and didn't return.

The Jaguars scored two touchdowns in the second half. Brock Bolen caught a 3-yard pass from Luke McCown in the third quarter, then scored on a fourth-and-goal play from the 1 with about 5 minutes remaining. Fans booed when Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio called for the extra point instead of a trying a tying 2-point conversion.

Tight end Marcedes Lewis was a man on a mission when he arrived in training camp.

"One of my goals was to have the best camp I've ever had in my life. Period," he said.

When the Jaguars bring down the curtain on training camp today, Lewis has not only appeared to reach that goal, he might have had the best camp of any Jaguar.

Entering his fifth NFL season, Lewis, 26, is getting rave reviews from the coaches and seems on the verge of establishing himself as one of the best tight ends in the league.

Coach Jack Del Rio said Lewis has been as dominant as any player in camp.

"He is a complete tight end," Del Rio said. "He is as good a blocking tight end as there is out there."

As long as David Garrard performs at mediocre level, Lewis will be no higher than a #2 TE in mandatory TE leagues.

Coach Jack Del Rio didn't seem concerned Friday night if the fans started a quarterback controversy.

"I don't think there is anything wrong with that," he said after the game when it was noted that Luke McCown's three-touchdown showing against the Philadelphia Eagles would get the fans focusing on the quarterbacks.

And he added that as the triggerman, David Garrard has the biggest say in whether a team can get things done.

Del Rio seemed to want to dampen that speculation Monday, especially since Garrard appears entrenched in the position as long as he stays healthy. The coach even declined to critique Garrard when he was asked how the quarterback looked on tape.

Wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker, who suffered a strained shoulder when he was sandwiched by two Eagles players trying to catch a pass in the second quarter Friday night in Philadelphia, had his arm out of a sling Sunday.

But while he repeated it is not serious, he said there's no timetable for his return.

Sims-Walker, who was the Jaguars' leading receiver last year, had a tough opener as he dropped two passes, including the one he was hurt on.

"It was good to see on film that he got both hands on it and could have brought it in, but it was a pretty good pop," quarterback David Garrard said. "I'm not going to say you're going to make it every time. And I can also help him keep his feet on the ground and not exposing him like that. I know Mike knows and feels like he should have made that catch and I'm going to continue to do everything to help him make it easier for him. But like I said, it is the NFL and he's got to make that catch."

Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Mike Sims-Walker injured his shoulder in the second quarter of the team's exhibition opener Friday night against Philadelphia. Sims-Walker watched the second half with his arm in a sling, but both he and coach Jack Del Rio said after the game that they didn't believe the injury was serious.

Quarterback David Garrard threw to Sims-Walker on fourth-and-3 at the Philadelphia Eagles' 33-yard line. Sims-Walker leaped into the air to grab the pass and got his hands on the ball, but was sandwiched between two defenders and couldn't hang on. It was the last play for the Jaguars' first-team offense.

Hopefully this does turn out to be a minor injury, as the Jaguars would be lost without their top receiver. Sims-Walker is also a pretty good fantasy player, as he is a top-25 player in both our regular and PPR ratings.

It’s second-year man Zach Miller, after all, who’s supposed to be this great piece for Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to use creatively.

But while Miller was banged up and missing work, it was Wilford who got a lot of featured time during offseason work. Wilford might be the big surprise among David Garrard's pass targets and tight ends.

“We think Zach can be that guy, we have high hopes for him,” Koetter said. “The guy that’s really shined bright in [organized team activities] in Zach’s absence is Ernest Wilford. Back in [2007] when we did go to the playoffs, Ernest was our leading receiver. I think Ernest has been kind of reborn.

Players who looked good in Jaguars OTAs:

QB David Garrard: Coming off a subpar year, he was consistent and clearly took a step up. He helped his cause with better rhythm and timing.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew: Had a solid camp and looks like he'll pick up where he left off last season as a Pro Bowl running back.

RB Rashad Jennings: Might have the best hands on the team and could be a weapon on passing downs and a good backup to Jones-Drew.

RB Deji Karim: Like Jennings, showed good hands coming out of the backfield and could add a dimension to the offense when he's split out and on screen passes.

TE Marcedes Lewis: Had his best OTA session so far. Quickness and route-running improved.

WR Jarett Dillard: Was the most impressive receiver in the OTAs. Displayed good route running and hands, was outstanding from the slot position.

WR Tiquan Underwood: Was the team's most improved receiver. Now he has to show he can do it in pads.

After David Garrard and Luke McCown split reps during a May minicamp, there was some speculation the starting quarterback position was up for grabs in Jacksonville. Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter had said McCown was "sharp" and that they "like what we see out of Luke in the meeting room and what we saw of him in minicamp." But McCown has indicated there is no quarterback controversy.

"It's David's job," McCown said on Sirius NFL Radio. "There's been a lot more made about it being a competition than there really should be. If anybody even hints to me about the idea of it being an open competition, I'm all for it. But that's not the case."

Garrard needs to play better, but it's hard to see McCown being a savior if Garrard stumbles. With Jacksonville's centerpiece on offense being Maurice Jones-Drew, whoever lines up under center is not going to be anything more than a fantasy backup. Garrard is currently ranked 18 in our rankings.

This has been a sore spot in Jacksonville for a while. When you look at this offense right now, one question comes to mind: Would Terrell Owens help? The answer is yes. However, after whiffing on Jerry Porter, the Jaguars have been reluctant to pursue receivers in free agency.

Even though this is clearly a weak spot, the Jaguars did not upgrade the position at all in the draft. They go into the season with Mike Sims-Walker and Mike Thomas as the starters. Those two combined for 111 receptions last season, which is respectable for a team that prides itself on running the ball. However, each player lacks explosiveness and big-play ability.

A lot of the blame for the Jaguars’ failures on offense last season was placed on quarterback David Garrard, but the receivers really should have shared a lot of that blame. Sims-Walker took his game up a notch last season, but he is more of a possession-type receiver who would be a No. 2 or No. 3 on most teams.