The Miami Dolphins earned their first win over their Florida rivals since 2009 as they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-17 in Week 17. During the win, the Dolphins got back to their winning formula that propelled them to five wins in six games. The formula consists of running the ball effectively and winning the turnover battle.
Miami ran for over 140 yards and had three takeaways. The Dolphins defense had a strong showing after back-to-back disappointing performances. With 17 points allowed, Miami improved to 6-0 when allowing fewer than 20 points in a game.
Baker Mayfield’s Message
Opposing quarterback Baker Mayfield had an up-and-down game as he threw for over 300 passing yards and two touchdowns, but turned the ball over three times. He was picked off by Ashtyn Davis and Jason Marshall. Additionally, pass-rusher Bradley Chubb generated a turnover as his sack forced the ball loose, which the Dolphins recovered. The takeaways by Davis and Chubb were crucial as both occurred in the second half with the Buccaneers in Miami’s territory.
Following the game, Mayfield was asked whether the turnovers were the reason Miami came out victorious over Tampa Bay. He said, “They don’t seem to have an answer for what we were doing schematically… when you’re playing a team that got nothing to play for besides incentives, when you give them a little juice and momentum, that’s how they’re going to respond.”
One of the players Mayfield was speaking about was Bradley Chubb, who needed a pair of sacks to trigger an incentive in his contract. With two sacks in the game, Chubb earned himself an additional $800,000 this year.
Mayfield isn’t the first player to speak out against Miami’s defense and scheme. Former Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer recently spoke out against defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s scheme, saying “I felt alone on the field. It’s one of the worst feelings. You’re out there having to guard everything. I didn’t understand our defense. Nobody understood our defense.”
Despite the comments made by Mayfield and Poyer, on Sunday the Dolphins defense proved to be effective as it led the way for a Dolphins win. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers have cooled off since their hot start which had Baker Mayfield in MVP conversations. Tampa Bay has now lost seven of its last eight games.
Dolphins Regular Season Finale
The Dolphins defense will have a tough task in their final game of the season. On Sunday, they face off against the 13-3 New England Patriots. New England is fifth in the NFL with 28.3 points per game this season. In their prior matchup the Dolphins allowed 33 points to the Patriots as Miami came out on the losing end. However, not all of those points happened against the Dolphins defense, as New England’s last touchdown of the game occurred as running back Antonio Gibson returned a Miami kickoff for a touchdown.
New England will have playoff seeding on the line in that game, which is why their starters are expected to play. Meanwhile, the Dolphins technically have nothing to play for, however the team is still playing hard as evidenced by their win over the Buccaneers on Sunday.
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