Buccaneers shouldn't make playoffs unless they do this to Dolphins

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers technically do not have to beat the Miami Dolphins. They will if the Carolina Panthers, a game up in the division, defeat the Seattle Seahawks, but if the Panthers cannot beat the No. 1 seed — a likely outcome — all Tampa Bay has to do is beat the Panthers in Week 18 in their rematch and they're in the playoffs.

That being said, the Buccaneers will still want to beat the Miami Dolphins. Yes, they'll want to in the slim chance (31.5%, per ESPN FPI) that the Panthers knock off the Seahawks, but they also need to simply prove that they can win football games. But even that might not be enough, because if the Bucs want to have the right amount of confidence heading into Week 18, they should look to beat the Dolphins by a lot.

Buccaneers must beat Dolphins soundly

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach greets Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel after a preseason game | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins aren't in a good place. They're coming off a rough loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, who are far from a stellar team themselves, losing 45-21. They're also starting a backup quarterback, Quinn Ewers, for just his second straight start in the NFL. Ewers had a tough outing against the Bengals, throwing zero touchdowns and two picks.

The Buccaneers have lost six of their last seven games, but the game they did win against the Arizona Cardinals was by three points. The Dolphins, like the Cardinals, are not a good football team, so the Buccaneers shouldn't just want to win — they should want to win big. Five of their seven wins were by three or less points, and their largest margin of victory is a 20-point drubbing against the Saints. That's the type of performance they'll need to put in.

If they can't beat the Dolphins, or they squeak by them by a small margin after the Bengals blew them out the week prior, it will simply prove that they have no business being in the playoffs. Additionally, a big win would get momentum flowing for a Week 18 matchup vs. the Panthers, and while a small one would do the same, it wouldn't be nearly as impactful.

The Bucs play the Dolphins at 1 p.m. in Miami this Sunday.

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