The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head to Miami for their final regular season road game of the 2025 season on Sunday, and for them the only storyline that really matters is the need to get a win to stave off the possibility of elimination from the NFC South title race. If the 7-8 Buccaneers can defeat the 6-9 Dolphins they will ensure themselves of a chance to play for the division crown in Week 18, head-to-head at home against the Carolina Panthers.

For the Dolphins, however, the most important development over the final weeks of the season is the play of rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, who was elevated into the starting job last week over sixth-year veteran Tua Tagovialoa. The Dolphins will certainly be motivated to win the game, and teams eliminated from contention can derive a certain amount of satisfaction from playing spoiler, but finding out what they have in Ewers, a seventh-round draft pick out of Texas, is probably more significant in the long run.

Ewers made his starting debut last week in a loss to Cincinnati, throwing for 260 yards but also getting picked off twice. The Buccaneers would love to force the rookie passer into some more mistakes on Sunday and create as much confusion as possible, but Ewers’ quick decision-making and accurate passing has a chance to work within Mike McDaniels offense and with a multitude of talented weapons around him.

“He’s different than Tua,” said Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles. “He’s more of a drop-back passer from that aspect, but they’ve got so many weapons around him with the running backs and the [wide] receivers and the tight ends that he doesn’t have to put it on his shoulders. He just gets the ball into the hands of playmakers and we’ve got to make sure we just do our job and know where everyone is.”

It starts with McDaniel’s system, which in some of Tagovailoa’s best stretches over the past four seasons has produced some of the most potent offenses in the NFL, particularly in terms of the running game.

“It’s very different because they use a lot of different people and move them around,” Bowles explained. “I mean, they can have the tackle out wide like a wide receiver, they can bring him in the backfield, they can have three running backs, they can have three tight ends, they can have two more tackles in the ball game…you just never know. He does a great job of scheming it up to where everybody understands what they’re doing. He’s probably one of the best at getting angle blocks and getting his running backs on the perimeter.”

Of course, the Dolphins’ run game has worked well over the last three seasons also because it features one of the most dynamic backs in the NFL in De’Von Achane. Achane ranks third in the NFL with 1,276 rushing yards and fifth with 1,726 yards from scrimmage, and most notably has the highest yards-per-carry average (5.8) of any qualifying player in the league. Achane’s big plays in both the run and pass game is what powers the Dolphins’ offense.

“He’s outstanding,” said Bowles. “I mean, he is outstanding. He’s kind of like Jahmyr Gibbs. They’re kind of one and the same. If you give him a crease, you’re not catching him.”

The Dolphins’ offense also features a big-play threat in wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who is averaging 14.2 yards per reception and can win on both vertical routes and short passes that get the ball into his hands quickly and give him room to pick up yards after the catch. Tight end Darren Waller is a dangerous weapon around the end zone, with six touchdowns among his 23 receptions. Buccaneer defenders have been busy this week watching Miami game tape to try to understand all the misdirection that McDaniel will be throwing their way.

“Everybody has to do their job and read your keys this week,” said safety Antoine Winfield Jr. “A lot of motions, a lot of flash and a lot of people moving. You [have] to make sure you’re detailed on your guy and what you’re supposed to do within the scheme of how they’re running things. So, it’s going to be tough, but we [have] to make sure we get it done.”

Miami’s defense ranks 22nd in points allowed and 19th in yards allowed but has mounted a steady pass rush all season. Even after trading away Jaelen Phillips at the deadline, the Dolphins still have an 8.02% sacks-per-pass-play rate, which ranks 11th in the NFL. That group is led by the edge rush duo of Bradley Chubb (6.5 sacks) and Chop Robinson (4.0) and the inside havoc-maker Zach Sieler, who has 5.5 sacks. Rangy linebacker Jordyn Brooks patrols the middle of the field and is the NFL’s tackle leader with 169 stops.

“Obviously, a lot of different looks,” said quarterback Baker Mayfield of the Dolphins’ defense. “Jordyn Brooks, unbelievable player; obviously his number of tackles speak for itself. He’s flying around the field, true effort guy, kind of sets the tone for the defense and you have guys in the secondary with a lot of experience — have seen a lot of ball. We’ll see if Minkah [Fitzpatrick] plays or not, but obviously he is the type of player [who is] extremely versatile, great blitzer, good in pass coverage, and then obviously, Chubb on the edge.”

The Buccaneers have put their disappointing three-point loss in Carolina behind them and are focused on making sure the rematch in Week 18 means something. They can’t change what has happened over the past 16 weeks, but they can still put themselves into the best position to succeed this coming Sunday in Miami…and they can still win their division.

“That’s the league,” said Winfield of bouncing back from adversity. “That’s playing in the NFL. You just keep showing up, keep putting the work in and just make sure that when you’re stacking these days, make sure this should carry through if we can make it to the playoffs. These days, we [have] to remember what it’s like being like this so we can use that energy and motivation when we’re out there on the field to make things happen at the end of the day.”

GAME AND BROADCAST DETAILS

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8) at Miami Dolphins (6-9)

Sunday, December 28, 1:00 p.m. ET

Hard Rock Stadium (capacity: 68,585)

TV Broadcast Team: Chris Myers (play-by-play), Mark Schlereth (analyst), Jen Hale (reporter)

Radio: 98Rock (WXTB, 97.9 FM), Flagship Station

Radio Broadcast Team: Gene Deckerhoff (play-by-play), Dave Moore (analyst), T.J. Rives (reporter)

Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente

Spanish Radio Broadcast Team: Carlos Bohorquez (play-by-play), Martin Gramática (analyst), Santiago Gramática (reporter)

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

As they are separated by just 200 air miles, the Buccaneers and Dolphins have been frequent partners in the preseason, meeting a whopping 32 times in warmup contests. That’s twice as many games as the Bucs have played against any other team in the preseason. However, their separation by conferences has made them infrequent combatants in the games that count, as the Bucs and ‘Phins have met only 12 times in 49 previous regular seasons. The Bucs took their first-ever lead in the series with a 30-20 win in Miami in 2017, then stretched it to a 7-5 edge in 2021 with a 45-17 blowout.

While the last two games have been decided by double digits, six of the other 10 have been decided by three or fewer points. While the overall scoring hasn’t been outrageous, it has certainly been steady: Neither team has ever scored fewer than 13 points in a game in the series.

The drama in the series began right away, as the Buccaneers welcomed the Dolphins to Tampa Stadium midway through Tampa Bay’s inaugural 1976 season. The Bucs finished that campaign without a victory, but they came very close to getting one against a Miami team that was coming off six straight seasons of 10 wins or more. WR Morris Owens caught three touchdown passes for the Buccaneers, two from QB Steve Spurrier in relief of Parnell Dickinson. A failed extra point on one of those scores meant the game was tied at 20-20 late in the fourth quarter before Garo Yepremian won it for Miami with a 29-yard field goal with less than a minute to play.

Miami won four of the first five meetings but the Buccaneers were beginning a franchise revival when the two teams squared off in 1997. Tampa Bay opened that season with a five-game winning streak, of which a 31-21 win over the Dolphins in a TNT Sunday night affair was the fourth outing. FB Mike Alstott ran in two touchdowns and RB Warrick Dunn iced it with a 58-yard TD catch-and-run in the fourth quarter.

The most recent meeting between the two teams was part of a strong 6-1 start to the 2021 season by the Buccaneers as they sought to defend their Super Bowl LV championship. The game was close into the third quarter but Tom Brady helped the Bucs surge ahead with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Mike Evans as the Bucs racked up 558 yards of total offense in a 45-17 decision.

Tampa Bay’s win in 2017 featured a fine performance by future Dolphin Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns in the 10-point win. The final score of 30-20 belied what was a very tight game, with Patrick Murray kicking a go-ahead field goal with just four seconds left. The Bucs tacked on seven more points when a desperation pitch-around on the ensuing kickoff ended in Adarius Glanton’s fumble recovery in the end zone.

Tampa Bay Head Coach Todd Bowles was the Dolphins’ interim head coach for the final three games of the 2011 season. That was the last of his four years in Miami, which also saw him serve as secondary coach/assistant head coach.
Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard began his NFL coaching career in Miami, joining the Dolphins as an offensive quality control coach in 2017. He was promoted to wide receivers coach in 2020.
Linebacker K.J. Britt signed with the Dolphins as an unrestricted free agent this past offseason after four seasons with the Buccaneers. He was drafted by Tampa Bay in the fifth round in 2021 and appeared in 59 games with the team with 16 starts, 11 of them coming in 2024.
Buccaneers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater played for the Dolphins in 2022 after being signed as an unrestricted free agent. He played in five games for Miami, starting two.
Linebacker Anthony Walker, re-signed this past week by the Buccaneers, spent the 2024 season in Miami. He played in 14 games with eight starts and recorded 68 tackles, one interception and one sack.
Dolphins Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry got his start in the NFL coaching ranks as an assistant offensive line coach on Lovie Smith’s staff in 2015. He retained that position for three more seasons under Head Coach Dirk Koetter.
Jon Embree, Miami’s Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Coach was the Buccaneers’ tight ends coach from 2014-16.
Dolphins Linebackers Coach/Run Game Coordinator Joe Barry had two different stints on Tampa Bay’s coaching staff. He tutured the team’s linebackers from 2001-06 under Head Coach Jon Gruden, then returned to that same position in 2009 under Head Coach Raheem Morris.
Miami linebacker Quinton Bell signed to the Buccaneers’ practice squad in November of 2019, then split the 2020 season between the team’s practice squad and active roster. He saw action in five games for Tampa Bay in 2020.
Buccaneers Tight Ends Coach Justin Peelle played the same position in the NFL for 10 seasons, and two of those (2006-07) were with the Dolphins, for whom he caught 45 passes for 644 yards and three touchdowns.
Buccaneers Assistant Secondary Coach Tim Atkins began his NFL career with the Dolphins, coming aboard as a defensive assistant in 2006 and staying through the 2008 season.