Quinn Ewers leads Miami Dolphins to 20-17 win vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
MIAMI GARDENS — One team had nothing to play for.
The other team was fighting for a playoff spot.
One team had a rookie quarterback starting only his second NFL game.
The other team had a veteran.
Put it together and the Miami Dolphins , who aren’t going to the playoffs, rode rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers to a 20-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and veteran Baker Mayfield .
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Ewers threw touchdown passes of 63 yards to Theo Wease and 11 to Greg Dulcich . He rarely looked like a rookie.
The Dolphins improved to 7-9 with only a visit to New England remaining on their 2025 schedule.
The Bucs fell to 7-9 but because Carolina lost at Seattle , they remain in contention for a playoff berth .
Here are the takeaways from the final home game of the season:
Quinn Ewers doesn't look like a rookie starting second game
Ewers made good decisions most of the day, showed good accuracy and ran the offense virtually flawlessly.
Perhaps nothing speaks to coach Mike McDaniel's confidence in Ewers than a play early in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins were backed up to their own 3-yard line, facing a third-and-11. McDaniel called for a pass out of Ewers' own end zone. Ewers rewarded him by finding tight end Julian Hill for a 15-yard reception.
A week ago, Ewers went 20 of 30 for 260 yards and two interceptions in his starting debut, a 45-21 loss to the Bengals .
On Sunday vs. the Bucs, the seventh-round pick out of Texas was 14 of 22 for 172 yards (63.6 percent) with 2 TDs, zero INTs and a 118.0 rating.
Meanwhile, Mayfield threw interceptions to Jason Marshall and Ashtyn Davis , with Davis' INT coming on the Miami 5-yard line with seven minutes left and the Dolphins trying to protect a 20-10 lead. In the fourth quarter, Mayfield fumbled when sacked by Bradley Chubb . Quinton Bell recovered for Miami as Mayfield was charged with his third turnover.
TE Greg Dulcich just keeps making plays
Tight end Greg Dulcich has made the most of his two months on the Dolphins’ active roster.
In the first half against the Bucs, Dulcich was doing what he has been doing with regularity — catching passes that can gash a defense.
This time, he weaved his way past two defenders cutting across the end zone to catch an 11-yard touchdown pass from Ewers. It was his fifth catch in five targets. It also was the first touchdown for Dulcich since Christmas Day 2022, when he scored for Denver against the Los Angeles Rams .
Dulcich entered the league as the Broncos ’ third-round pick out of UCLA, but Denver gave up on him two years later. After a stop with the Giants, he was out of work for just one day when Miami signed him to its practice squad in August.
He entered the Tampa Bay game with 18 catches for 246 yards and deserves an extended look when the Dolphins begin shaping their 2026 roster.
Solving that third-quarter thing?
The Dolphins’ third-quarter issues have been well documented.
So when they started the second half with a 17-7 lead, the question was whether momentum was about to shift.
Linebacker K.J. Britt got the Dolphins off to a good start, pressuring Mayfield on a third-and-3 play and forcing an incompletion.
On Tampa Bay’s next possession, things got tighter. Mayfield kept it alive with a scramble for 11 yards on a third-and-10 play. Eventually, the drive stalled via a Jack Jones TFL and a Mayfield fumble that he recovered, resulting in a short field goal to cut Miami’s lead to 17-10.
The quarter ended with the Dolphins within 17 yards of a touchdown. They’d been outscored 3-0 in the quarter, a vast improvement over the 21-0 thrashing they’d absorbed in the third quarter vs. Cincinnati a week prior. And they’d driven downfield to the point that two plays into the fourth quarter, Riley Patterson kicked a 31-yard field goal to restore the 10-point lead.
Special teams give Dolphins a spark
Miami’s special teams enjoyed a good day.
After the Bucs had cut Miami’s lead to seven in the third quarter with a field goal, Malik Washington returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards to set up a field goal.
Dolphins rookie Zeek Biggers blocked a 55-yard field-goal try by Chase McLaughlin in the second quarter.
Patterson continued to be a reliable fill-in for Jason Sanders , kicking field goals of 29 and 31 yards.
Jake Bailey averaged 56 yards on two punts.
And, last but not least, running back De'Von Achane, who had 83 yards on 18 carries, recovered Tampa Bay's last-gasp onside kick in the final minute.
This and that …
Tyrel Dodson had a textbook, third-down tackle on Bucky Irving to get the defense off the field. … The first quarter ended 7-7 with a stat line you couldn’t have seen coming. Jaylen Waddle had Miami’s only rushing attempt . De’Von Achane had none, plus one reception for no gain. … Bucs receiver Jalen McMillan , a second-year pro, committed a cardinal sin on a pass intended for him. Marshall cut in front of Millan to make a leaping interception. Things happen. But McMillan gave up on the play at that point, allowing Marshall to get up and return the interception 23 yards. McMillan was saved, somewhat, when Jack Jones was called for an illegal blindside block. Still, as a receiver, you can’t assume a defender is down by contact in that situation. … It was a tough week for linebacker Jordyn Brooks . First he learned that despite leading the league in tackles, he was snubbed for the Pro Bowl. Against the Bucs he suffered hamstring problems that forced him out of the game.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins upset Tampa Bay Buccaneers behind Quinn Ewers, defense
