Dolphins-Bucs Week 17 Halftime Observations

What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins' Week 17 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Hard Rock Stadium

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. (81) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Hard Rock Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins' Week 17 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Hard Rock Stadium:

We'll start with the list of inactives, which obviously was highlighted by Tua Tagovailoa being made the emergency third quarterback for a second consecutive week but also included center Aaron Brewer out with a neck injury. It ended his streak of 66 consecutive starts that began at the start of the 2022 season when he was a member of the Tennessee Titans.

With Brewer out, Andrew Meyer got the start at center in his first game of the season after being activated off injured reserve Saturday.

In his second NFL start, Quinn Ewers looked every bit the part of a future starter after a three-and-out to start the game and got the kind of help from the running game we saw during the team's four-game winning streak.

The big question now is whether the Dolphins actually can continue their strong play into the second half or the third-quarter struggles will be back again.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

Good discipline by the Dolphins defense not to fall for Tampa Bay trying to draw them offside not once but twice, first at the end of the first quarter and then on fourth-and-1 early in the second. Tampa Bay took a delay a game on the second one and punted from its 46 instead of going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Miami 49.

After his rough NFL debut against Cincinnati, Theo Wease Jr. came up with a play to remember when he took advantage of some bad coverage by the Bucs and a nice throw by Quinn Ewers for a 63-yard touchdown.

Ewers showed again some good ball-handling skills in executing his fake handoffs.

Jaylen Wright hasn't been much of a factor, but it's clear he's got good potential, as he showed on that 32-yard run to give the Dolphins a first-and-goal.

Rookie Jason Marshall Jr. has maybe the most quiet of the rookies so far, but he had himself a very good first half, highlighted by his impressive interception in the second quarter, though he was bailed out by an underthrow by Baker Mayfield. Still, it was quite the pick after he tipped the ball to himself as he was falling down.

De'Von Achane didn't have that many touches in the first half, but he looked as impressive as he has all season.

While everyone has talked about his rapport with Wease, Quinn Ewers clearly has a connection with Greg Dulcich as well.

That touchdown drive at the end of the half was a thing of beauty and included the ability to overcome a penalty and score after being in a second-and-goal situation from the 20-yard line.

While he didn't make noticeable plays, cornerback Rasul Douglas had another strong first half as he continues his outstanding bounce-back season in Miami.

Rookie seventh-round pick Zeek Biggers was a block specialist at Georgia Tech and he got his first one in the NFL late in the first half to preserve Miami's 17-7 lead.

THE LOWLIGHTS

That call on the Dolphins' third-and-goal from the 4 midway through the second quarter was ... something. Setting off tight end Greg Dulcich to the right side of the formation and then throwing him the ball at the snap with no blocker in front never had a chance and the loss of 7 yards shouldn't even have been a surprise.

It's clear that Mike McDaniel has given Ewers the mandate to not be afraid to throw the ball deep, but taking a deep shot for Malik Washington with two defenders around him on the first drive wasn't a good choice regardless.

The Dolphins rookie defensive tackles have made progress, without question, but it still was disappointing to see both Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips blocked out one-on-one to open a hole up the middle on the Bucs' fourth-down conversion in the first quarter.

It made for a cool play and moment when Ewers had a completion to himself on a shovel pass that was batted up, but the smart play there would have been for him to bat the ball down to save an unnecessary 6-yard loss. We understand that the instincts will tell any player to just catch the ball, but it still is not the smart move.

It's not a major issue in the big picture with the Dolphins out of playoff contention, unless the injury proves serious, but it obviously wasn't good to see Jaylen Waddle walk to the locker room in the first half.

Penalties were a bit of an issue in the first half, including one on Cedrick Wilson Jr. on the first drive that nullified a long gain by Malik Washington and then the holding against Meyer on second-and-goal.

That last-minute sequence after the blocked field goal was one to forget. And the Dolphins maybe need to stop with those backward passes across the line of scrimmage. Just a thought.

And while it was the lineman that Jonah Savaiinaea who got the sack on the last play of the half, it was Austin Jackson getting beat early that caused it.

It was a good first half overall, though. Now comes the tough part.