Dolphins (1-3) at Buccaneers (3-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida TV: CBS
Tipico Sportsbook line: Buccaneers by 10 ⁄2
1
Dolphins’ keys to victory: Beating the Bucs always starts with making life as difficult as possible for QB Tom Brady. Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is one of the NFL’s better defensive coaches,
and he spent plenty of time coaching against Brady in practice when both were in New England. Tampa Bay’s banged-up secondary has struggled to defend the pass, so Dolphins QB Jacoby Brissett must take advantage of that weak link.
Bucs’ keys to victory: The defending Super Bowl champs are as talented on both sides of the ball as any other team in the league, but self-inflicted errors have kept them from living up to their full potential. Eliminating penalties, mental errors and turnovers will continue to be Tampa Bay’s biggest challenge. The Bucs’ dominant pass rush from last year has been nonexistent far too frequently through the first four weeks of the year, so OLB Shaquil Barrett and his crew will need to play better.
Matchup to watch: Dolphins CB Xavien Howard vs. Bucs WR Mike Evans. Two of the game’s best line up across from one another. Evans and Howard are both on Hall of Fame career trajectories, and they both bring athleticism, physicality and big-play ability to the table.
Who wins? The Bucs are dealing with injuries on both sides of the ball, but even at less than full strength, they’re still too talented. After back-to-back road games, Tampa Bay should have the upper hand in every phase of this game, giving them a comfortable win in front of their home crowd.
Bucs, 38-16