JACKSONVILLE – The looong wait is over, with the real stuff now at hand.

After an offseason of staff additions and free-agent acquisitions, the Jaguars open the 2024 regular season against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday.

This is a Sunshine opener with a high-profile feel.

It's a matchup of AFC contenders with postseason hopes – and a matchup of young quarterbacks with potential to be among the league's best.

Both teams have had winning records the last two seasons, with the Dolphins a wild-card team each seasons and the Jaguars winning the AFC South in 2022 before missing the postseason on the final game of the 2023 regular season.

They're two teams that have been good recently, with each now wanting to take a step toward being great.

Quarterback is a storyline for each franchise, with both starters – Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars and Tua Tagovailoa of the Dolphins – signing long-term contract extensions this past offseason. Both have been good, and both must continue developing to fulfill expectations.

It's also a matchup of teams with new defensive coordinators, former Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen for the Jaguars and former Baltimore Ravens defensive line coach Anthony Weaver for the Dolphins.

The Jaguars in the offseason added free agents such as defensive lineman Arik Armstead (San Francisco 49ers), wide receiver Gabe Davis (Buffalo Bills), center Mitch Morse (Bills), safety/cornerback Darnell Savage (Green Bay Packers), cornerback Ronald Darby (Baltimore Ravens) and wide receiver/returner Devin Duvernay (Ravens). The objective: to not only add talent, but to add playoff experience to what was a young team that couldn't quite finish after a strong start.

The quest to change that story begins Sunday. Here are 10 things the Jaguars must do to beat the Dolphins:

1. Play fast. The Dolphins will do it. It's their identity. Matching their speed will be difficult, but the Jaguars – particularly on defense – must come close.
2. Win up front. This is about the Jaguars' defensive front, and this is key to Sunday's game. The Dolphins are blindingly fast on offense. The way to counter that is to get disruption from a defensive front – ends Travon Walker, Arik Armstead and Josh Hines-Allen and nose tackle DaVon Hamilton – that figures to be the defining group of an improved defense.
3. Pressure Tua. Tagovailoa is emerging as one of the NFL's better young quarterbacks. He is known for getting the ball out quickly. He's a capable distributor to a slew of fast, dangerous receivers. With time, he'll play like a point guard of a fast-break offense. He must be pressured. Quickly.
4. Protect the ball. This is about Lawrence. It's mentioned here because it will be mentioned whenever Lawrence plays – particularly early this season. Avoidable turnovers, particularly key fumbles in the pocket, too often have defined Lawrence. That must change.
5. Run block. Like No. 3 – protect the ball – this has a season-long feel. The Jaguars too often in 2023 struggled to run block in key situations. They signed Morse to help address that. Improvement must happen. It might as well start Sunday.
6. Contain Tyreek Hill … The Dolphins' offense is fast everywhere. But perhaps no player in the NFL plays as fast as the veteran wide receiver. It's difficult to stop Hill. But the Jaguars must prevent him from having the run of early big plays that can deflate a defense – and end a game – quickly.
7. … and the "others, too. It's incorrect to call the Dolphins' skill players other than Hill "others." This dangerous group includes wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and running backs Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane – and all are among the NFL's fastest players at their positions. You're not going stop these players – or Hill. But you must prevent a run of multiple big plays that gives a home team momentum in an already energized environment.
8. Respond with poise. Teams as fast as the Dolphins can make a defense feel overwhelmed, particularly if those offenses have early success. The Dolphins figure to have some success. How the Jaguars respond will say much about a defense playing in its first game under Nielsen.
9. Go deep. The Jaguars too often struggled to make big plays downfield in 2023. They signed Davis and selected wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. No. 23 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft to strain secondaries. We don't yet know how this area of the Jaguars' offense will look in 2024. We'll learn a little about this Sunday.
10. Shake off the past. The Jaguars moved boldly in the offseason to add postseason experience – and to shed the aftereffects of a late-season slide that cost them a playoff appearance. That shaky finish should be in the rear view. It's up to the Jaguars to make sure it stays there.