The Miami Dolphins will travel to Raymond James Stadium to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday afternoon in NFL Football action.
The Miami Dolphins lost their 3rd straight game and dropped to 1-3 on the season after being defeated by the Indianapolis Colts, 27-17, this past Sunday. Miami could not get anything going on the offensive end at home against the Indianapolis defense and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 17-3 margin. Miami was outgained by Indianapolis by a 349-203 margin and lost the turnover battle by a 2-1 margin in the loss. Leading the way for the Dolphins was QB Jacoby Brissett who completed 20 of 30 passes for 199 yards & 2 TD’s.
On the season, Miami is averaging 15.5 ppg on 277.8 total yards per game (199.5 passing yds/g; 78.3 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Miami has been led by Jacoby Brissett who has completed 63.9% of his passes for 583 yards, 2 TD, & 1 INT. The top receiving threats for the Dolphins have been DeVante Parker (17 rec, 242 yards, TD), Jaylen Waddle (25 rec, 200 yards, TD), & Mike Gesicki (18 rec, 184 yards, TD). Leading the way for the Miami backfield has been the duo of Myles Gaskin (29 att, 142 yards; 12 rec, 57 yards) & Malcolm Brown (25 att, 91 yards, 1 TD).
Defensively, Miami is allowing their opponents to average 27.3 ppg on 405.3 total yards per game (268.5 passing yds/g; 136.8 rushing yds/g).
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers improved to 3-1 on the season after defeating the New England Patriots, 19-17, this past Sunday night. Tampa Bay had all they could handle in Tom Brady’s return to Foxboro, however, the Buccaneers were able to hang on late after Nick Folk hit the left-upright in a game-winning 56-yard FG attempt with under a minute left in the game. Tampa Bay outgained New England by a 381-294 margin and won the turnover battle by a 2-0 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Buccaneers was RB Leonard Fournette who combined for 139 yards (92 rushing yds; 47 receiving yds).
On the season, Tampa Bay is averaging 30.5 ppg on 411.3 total yards per game (339.0 passing yds/g; 72.3 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Tampa Bay has been led by Tom Brady who has completed 64.7% of his passes for 1356 yards (344.8 passing yds/g), 10 TD, & 2 INT. The top receiving threats for the Brady and the Buccaneers have been Chris Godwin (22 rec, 296 yards, 2 TD), Mike Evans (23 rec, 280 yards, 2 TD), Antonio Brown (13 rec, 201 yards, TD), & Rob Gronkowski (16 rec, 184 yards, 4 TD). Gronkowski missed the game against New England with a ribs injury and is questionable for this matchup.
Defensively, Tampa Bay is allowing their opponents to average 26.3 ppg on 389.0 total yards per game (341.5 passing yds/g; 47.5 rushing yds/g).
The Dolphins are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog and 4-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record. The Buccaneers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall, however, are just 8-18-1 ATS in their last 27 games as a home favorite.
Tampa Bay is no question the better team in this one, however, this is a bunch of points for the Buccaneers to cover for a team that certainly has some questions in the secondary with Carlton Davis III & Antoine Winfield Jr not being available. Miami’s head coach Brian Flores is a solid defensive-minded coach that has plenty of history against Tom Brady and as I think the Dolphins will able to put up some points against Tampa Bay in this one, I think Miami does enough in the end to cover with the double-digit points.
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
