KEYS TO THE GAME

Harass Bucs QB Tom Brady with pressure up the middle: There isn’t a single scheme, front, blitz, or exotic look that a defense can throw at Brady to catch him off guard. That means defensive linemen Christian Wilkins, Adam Butler and Emmanuel Ogbah need to consistently collapse the pocket.

Rush for 100 or more yards:

The Dolphins can’t afford to get into a shootout with Tampa Bay because they don’t have the firepower to keep pace. The best way to shorten a game is to run the football consistently. Miami has only done that successfully once this season, during its 31-28 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Protect Jacoby Brissett:

Miami’s struggles in the trenches have kept the quarterbacks under constant pressure all season, and it’s negatively impacting the personnel usage (Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed and Mike Gesicki have been sparingly used), and the Dolphins play-calling (anything longer than a fivestep drop has been risky). Brissett has been sacked nine times in three games.

Eliminate the big play from Buccaneers offense:

The New England Patriots had success last Sunday dropping six and seven defenders into coverage and forcing Brady to work underneath, dinking and dunking his way down the field. That approach isn’t perfect, but it could help a struggling defense survive against one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. The problem is, there’s only one Xavien Howard, and Byron Jones could be sidelined due to his leg injury.

Make Buccaneers one dimensional:

Because of how pass-heavy Tampa Bay’s offense is under Brady’s tutelage, the Buccaneers sparingly run the football and as a result average just 72 rushing yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry. Sunday can’t be the game tailback Leonard Fournette gets into a groove because the Dolphins can’t afford to key in on both the run and the passing game. Miami will need linebackers Jerome Baker and Elandon Roberts and safety Brandon Jones at their best, getting runners down near or close to the line of scrimmage.