The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the Miami Dolphins at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
Preview
Jacoby Brissett will start once again, facing off against former teammate Tom Brady. Brissett, who is filling in for Tua Tagovailoa, is 76-of-119 passing for 583 yards and one touchdown this season. Meanwhile, Tom Brady is 119-of-184 passing for 1356 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Brissett has high expectations for this week’s matchup against Tom Brady. “We’re not going to watch Tom play, we’re going to win,” Brissett said, via Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post.
There are plenty of injuries heading into Sunday’s affair. Tampa Bay TE Rob Gronkowski is doubtful with a rib injury. In addition, RB Giovani Bernard, DE Patrick O’Connor and CB Carlton Davis all come in as questionable.
Meanwhile, Miami will be without WR Will Fuller, who has been placed on Injured Reserve. Fuller suffered a broken finger in a loss to the Colts last week. The 27-year-old is going to be sidelined for at least two more games. In other injury news, TE Adam Shaheen, WR DeVante Parker and CB Byron Jones come in as questionable.
Expectations
It will likely be a long game Sunday for the Dolphins. The Buccaneers defense will surely get past Miami’s disappointing offensive line. In addition, Miami hasn’t looked great since Tua Tagovailoa fell to injury, so we should see Tampa Bay control the game throughout.
In order for Miami to win, or even keep Sunday’s game close, the Dolphins must put points on the board. Tampa Bay’s elite defense can easily shut out Miami; the Bills have already completed that task.
The Dolphins’ secondary must shut down Tampa Bay’s stacked receiving core. Even Tampa Bay’s offense will be without Rob Gronkowski, Mike Evans should serve as Tom Brady’s top red-zone target. Evans is a mismatch nightmare and should be in for a big performance on Sunday. Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown will also have big games in store.
Overall, the Dolphins need to find a way to win Sunday. On both sides of the ball, the Buccaneers have much depth and skill. Brady didn’t look his best last week as Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots slowed him down. However, expect a bounce-back week from the GOAT.