Winners and losers from the Buccaneers' Week 17 loss to the Dolphins

The Buccaneers lose their seventh game in eight weeks, falling 20-17 to a Miami Dolphins team with nothing at stake. Tampa Bay showed no sign of reversing its downward trajectory, continuing to look hapless in nearly every aspect of the game. The defense disappeared for a quarter, long enough for Miami to hang 17 points on them. The offense appeared potent at times, but they could not overcome Baker Mayfield’s three turnovers. Special teams continued to be anything but.

Somehow, despite the loss, the Bucs could still win the division and go to the playoffs, as futile an endeavor as that would certainly be. Todd Bowles is coaching a bad team and there is no reason to believe that he or his squad have any concept about how to be good again this season.

Here are the winners and losers from the Bucs’ Week 17 loss to the Dolphins.

LOSER: NFC South

It would be hard to dispute that the NFC South is the worst division in the NFL. Thanks to the Bucs and Panthers‘ losses today, the division is guaranteed to send a team with a losing record to the playoffs. Tampa Bay’s collapse over the second half of the season fumbled away an easily winnable division. Even in the increasingly unlikely scenario that the Bucs do beat the Panthers next week, there is little evidence to suggest that they will be at all competitive in the postseason. In any case, Bucs fans and the NFL audience in general will be subjected to pitiful football if meaningful football is not played for at least one more week.

LOSER: Todd Bowles

Before the Bucs’ loss to Miami, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that despite Tampa Bay’s horrendous slide since the bye, head coach Todd Bowles is in no danger of losing his job. As though the previous seven games would not indicate otherwise, Bowles’ team did what it could to challenge the safety of their head coach’s job. Miami had nothing to play for except pride, and they started a rookie quarterback with just one NFL start in Quinn Ewers. Nevertheless, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel coached circles around Bowles, largely neutralizing his blitzes and exploiting the tendencies of his pass defense.

It is clear that Bowles has no answers for what ails his team or any solutions for getting them back on track. There is no consistency in any aspect of the team’s on-field production or any indication that the miscues are tapering. Bowles can blame player execution all he wants, but ultimately, Bowles is responsible for the team’s overall performance.

LOSER: First-half defense

If Tampa Bay’s defense could play a complete game, it might be pretty good. Unfortunately for them, that has not been the case for months and was not the case against Miami. The defense started well, forcing an early three-and-out, but an embarrassing sequence put them in a hole against a depleted Miami offense.

First, Jamel Dean and Tykee Smith form a gestalt of ineptitude and allow undrafted rookie WR Theo Wease Jr. to score a 63-yard receiving touchdown. Then, the entire defense forgets how to tackle as the Dolphins put together consecutive 76-yard scoring drives in which De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright combine for 92 rushing yards at an 11.5-yard per carry average.

After this, the Bucs defense locked down the Miami offense, allowing just 47 yards the rest of the game. One busted coverage and ten minutes of ineptitude all but sunk Tampa Bay, as it has for much of the last two months.

WINNER: Tampa Bay’s wide receivers

It appears only one part of the team has both the desire and the ability to will the Bucs to the possibility of victory: the wide receivers. With the run game all but a fond memory from 2024, the finally healthy wide receiver corps is putting the team on their backs. Jalen McMillan and Chris Godwin combined for 14 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown with Mike Evans adding three more catches for 31 yards and a touchdown. It was clear the Bucs receivers outclassed the Miami secondary. Unfortunately for them, their efforts went in vain as Baker Mayfield played one of his worst games of the season, throwing two completely avoidable interceptions. The problem with having a dominant receiver corps is that it is all for naught if the quarterback is not up to the challenge.

LOSER: Special teams

For as bad as Tampa Bay’s offense and defense are, their special teams are easily the most dysfunctional unit. As with nearly every week prior, the special teams committed multiple errors that tilted the game against the Bucs. First, Miami blocks a Chase McLaughlin field goal attempt late in the second quarter. Then, in the third quarter, Tampa Bay’s kick coverage unit allowed a 47-yard Malik Washington return. While the defense kept Miami out of the end zone, the short field allowed the Dolphins an easy field goal.

The six-point swing ultimately decided a game the Bucs lost by three points. The Bucs’ special teams and their lack of detail have cost Tampa Bay numerous close games throughout this season. Regardless of whether Todd Bowles is retained as head coach, the Bucs have to make wholesale changes to their special teams operation in the offseason.

This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Winners and losers from the Bucs’ Week 17 loss to the Miami Dolphins

Winners and losers from the Buccaneers’ Week 17 loss to the Dolphins

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