NFL

Miami Dolphins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

· National Football League
2-1, 0-1 Away
Final
14 - 24
2-1, 1-0 Home

Mayfield leads long TD drive in brief preseason outing, Buccaneers beat Dolphins 24-14

The 29-year-old quarterback who resurrected his career while leading the Bucs to the playoffs last season moved his team 70 yards in seven plays after the opening kickoff, setting up Rachaad White's 4-yard touchdown run with a 28-yard completion to rookie Jalen McMillan.

Mayfield, who sat out Tampa Bay's first two preseason games, went 3 for 3 for 54 yards before taking the rest of the night off as both teams used most of the game to get an extended look at young players still battling for jobs.

Bucs coach Todd Bowles didn't specify how much he intended to play his starters in the finale, saying in the days leading up to the game: “I'll get them out when it's time to get them out.”

Mayfield set the tone with the opening drive, and the top defense forced a “three-and-out” on the lone series it played.

“It's good they were ready to play," Bowles said. “They wanted to play longer, but I had seen enough.” Mayfield called the offense's performance ”extremely efficient."

“Our guys were locked in, exactly what the coach asked of them,” the quarterback said. “We need to be efficient and start fast, not wait to get hit in the mouth and then figure things out.”

Like Mayfield, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa played one series this preaseason after leading the NFL in passing yardage in 2023. The fifth-year pro, who signed a four-year, $212 million extension in the offseason, completed all five of his passes for 51 yards and a touchdown in Miami's second preseason outing.

Mayfield, a Pro Bowl selection for the first time last season, was playing for the first time since signing a three-year $100 million contract. He played in 2023 on a one-year, $4 million deal, throwing for a personal-best 4,044 yards and 28 TDs to help Tampa Bay win a third consecutive NFC South title.

Miami receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle both sat out the preseason finale with injuries that limited them to individual work while the Dolphins and Bucs held a joint practice at Tampa Bay's training facility earlier in the week.

Mike White and Skylar Thompson split time at quarterback for the Dolphins, while Kyle Trask followed Mayfield and played the remainder of the game for Tampa Bay.

Thompson threw touchdown passes of 20 yards to Hayden Rucci and 1 yard to Kyric McGowan, finishing 19 of 27 for 190 yards, two TDs and a fourth-quarter interception.

Trask went 17 of 24 for 141 yards without an interception, including TDs of 10 yards to Ryan Miller and 2 yards to Tanner Knue.

The teams now will turn their attention to trimming the roster for the regular season, with Bowles and Dolphins Mike McDaniel each facing what they say will be some difficult decisions.

“There are things that (Dolphins general manager Chris Grier) and I will talk about across the board just because we’re always open minded to what makes the Dolphins the best,” McDaniel said. “You have to watch the tape and sit down with all your coaching staff, Chris and his department and iron those things out because there’s a lot of tough competition.”

INJURIES

Miami receiver Anthony Schwartz was helped off the field in the second quarter with what appeared to be a left knee injury.

UP NEXT

Dolphins: Open the regular season at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 8.

Buccaneers: Host rookie Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in the No. 2 overall draft pick's pro debut Sept. 8.

How can I watch Dolphins vs. Buccaneers?

  • TV Channel: Dolphins at Buccaneers 2021-22 NFL, week 4 is broadcasted nationally on .
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
    In Canada, viewers can watch Dolphins vs. Buccaneers on DAZN.

Scoring Summary

TB TD 1st Period 11:55 Rachaad White 4 Yd Run (Chase McLaughlin Kick)
TB FG 2nd Period 12:56 Chase McLaughlin 51 Yd Field Goal
TB TD 2nd Period 6:48 Ryan Miller 10 Yd pass from Kyle Trask (Chase McLaughlin Kick)
MIA TD 2nd Period 2:22 Hayden Rucci 20 Yd pass from Skylar Thompson (Jason Sanders Kick)
MIA TD 3rd Period 1:08 Kyric McGowan 1 Yd pass from Skylar Thompson (Jason Sanders Kick)
TB TD 4th Period 11:46 Tanner Knue 2 Yd pass from Kyle Trask (Chase McLaughlin Kick)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/mia.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMIA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB
15 1st Downs 15
10 Passing 1st downs 10
4 Rushing 1st downs 5
1 1st downs from penalties 0
3-12 3rd down efficiency 1-10
1-4 4th down efficiency 3-3
59 Total Plays 53
320 Total Yards 290
5.4 Yards per Play 5.5
10 Total Drives 11
218 Passing 195
24/36 Comp/Att 20/27
5.9 Yards per pass 7.2
1 Interceptions thrown 0
1-9 Sacks-Yards Lost 0-0
102 Rushing 95
22 Rushing Attempts 26
4.6 Yards per rush 3.7
2-2 Red Zone (Made-Att) 3-3
8-60 Penalties 5-35
1 Turnovers 0
0 Fumbles lost 0
1 Interceptions thrown 0
0 Defensive / Special Teams TDs 0
33:39 Possession 26:21
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Chris Godwin, WR Questionable Mar 10
Markees Watts, LB Questionable Feb 12
Christian Izien, S Questionable Feb 12
Silas Dzansi, OT Questionable Feb 12
SirVocea Dennis, LB Questionable Feb 12
Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
James Daniels, G Questionable Mar 26
Bradley Chubb, LB Questionable Mar 5
Tyreek Hill, WR Questionable Feb 25
Tanner Conner, TE Questionable Feb 17
Tahj Washington, WR Questionable Feb 11

Game Information

Raymond James Stadium

Location: Tampa, FL
Attendance: 64,735 · Capacity:

2024 AFC East Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Buffalo 13 4 .765 0 525 368
Miami 8 9 .471 0 345 364
New York 5 12 .294 0 338 404
New England 4 13 .235 0 289 417

2024 NFC South Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Tampa Bay 10 7 .588 0 502 385
Atlanta 8 9 .471 0 389 423
Carolina 5 12 .294 0 341 534
New Orleans 5 12 .294 0 338 398
Full Standings

NFL News

Canty: Cowboys have to start considering a Dak Prescott trade

Canty: Cowboys have to start considering a Dak Prescott trade

Chris Canty explains why the Cowboys' lack of playoff success will pressure them to consider trading Dak Prescott.

2025 NFL draft: Latest buzz, Hunter's position, sleepers

2025 NFL draft: Latest buzz, Hunter's position, sleepers

Could Travis Hunter play full-time wide receiver? Which teams are most likely to trade down? Our NFL draft experts weigh in.

How Cowboys get a draft advantage with their 'Dallas Day'

How Cowboys get a draft advantage with their 'Dallas Day'

With many draft prospects from the Dallas area -- such as RB Ashton Jeanty and QB Quinn Ewers -- the Cowboys have a leg up on other NFL teams.

Detroit Lions prioritized discipline in NFL free agency

Detroit Lions prioritized discipline in NFL free agency

With so many young stars still to pay, the Lions are trusting what they already had in-house this offseason.

Do Panthers have a legit No. 1 receiver in Xavier Legette?

Do Panthers have a legit No. 1 receiver in Xavier Legette?

The Panthers still see a lot of upside in Legette, their 2024 first-round pick, but he has a lot to improve on from his rookie year.