Buccaneers vs. Dolphins: Picks, Predictions and Takes
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers return home after a two-week road stretch to face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Matching up against what has been a disappointing Dolphins team so far this season, the hope for the Bucs is that this can act as a get-right game after losing steam in the past two weeks of the season compared to their first two.
Sports Illustrated Sportsbook favors the Buccaneers over the Dolphins by 10 points, and has set the over/under at 48. You can find the AllBucs' staff picks, predictions and takes for the game below.
Zach Goodall (4-0): Buccaneers 27, Dolphins 10
It hasn't been perfect for Tampa Bay to begin this season, but it's been as far from perfect as can be for Miami in the same vein: These are two teams going in different directions in 2021.
After a loss to Los Angeles and a narrow victory over New England, Tampa Bay is in a bit of a slump compared to its expectations entering the season. However, the Dolphins are not a strong team offensively which should result in a handful of drives and favorable situations for the Bucs as the game goes on.
However, the Dolphins own a solid defense - including star corners in Xavien Howard and Byron Jones who were on the injury report all week - which could limit scores while the Bucs are without their best red-zone weapon in tight end Rob Gronkowski. Tampa Bay should win comfortably, but I get the feeling that the Buccaneers will exit the game wanting more offensively in terms of finding the end zone - much like the past two weeks.
Jason Beede (4-0): Buccaneers 31, Dolphins 10
This is a great chance for the Bucs to get back on track. As Zach mentions above, Tampa Bay is, in fact, in a bit of a slump considering a road loss out west to the Rams and a close win at New England.
While Miami has a solid pass defense, they're really bad at stopping the run which should bode well for Leonard Fournette on Sunday. I am expecting Fournette to receive a similar workload to what he did last week vs. the Patriots: More than 20 carries and over 100 yards on the ground.
Overall, I think Tampa Bay is simply a better football team than Miami and will avoid a letdown on Sunday crushing their Sunshine State opponent.
Evan Winter (3-1): Buccaneers 23, Dolphins 13
This is definitely a game the Bucs should win. They outmatch the Dolphins in several categories ranging from production to personnel. But the phrase "Any Given Sunday" exists for a reason. There's always a chance the Dolphins could pull off the upset.
The Bucs can't put themselves behind the chains because of stupid penalties, they can't turn the ball over, and they have to execute in the red zone. If they check off those two boxes, then this should be a comfortable win. I'm not talking a 35-3 beatdown or anything like that, but something along the lines of 23-13, or something in that range.
The Dolphins' offense is in really bad shape. The Bucs defense is coming off a great game against a subpar offense in the Patriots. The biggest key in terms of on the field is how much can Miami head coach Brian Flores -who worked with Brady from 2004-2019- affect Brady's play. Brady guessed the two were around each other for "1,500 practices" on Thursday. That's obviously a lot. But if Brady overcomes Flores' attack in even the slightest then it will again signal a Bucs win.
I do think the Bucs move on to 4-1 on the season after this week. I don't foresee a Week 5 letdown like 2020's Chicago matchup on Thursday Night Football. A big part of Sunday's win will be Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, who will record at least two sacks during the game.
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