Miami Gives Up Second Most Yards in Flores Era, Hammered by Bucs -

The fight for Florida on Sunday was a back and forth battle into the second quarter, with the Miami Dolphins taking the lead twice over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But one wouldn’t know it after Miami ended up hammered 45-17 and gave up the second-most yards ever under head coach Brian Flores.

Brady Achieves Another Milestone, Dolphins Give Up Second-Most Yards in Flores Era

Tampa Bay (4-1) quarterback Tom Brady had a career day. A line that makes you shrug your shoulders, but on Sunday he added yet another record to his books. It was the first time Brady tossed five touchdowns and amassed more than 400 passing yards. He also didn’t have an interception. In fact, the Dolphins (1-4) failed to force a turnover for the first time in 26 games, ending a NFL-long streak.

The Buccaneers would finish the day with 558 total yards to Miami’s 301. It was the second-most yards the Dolphins have given up under Flores since he took over for the club in 2019. The other? His very first game at home against the Baltimore Ravens when the team gave up more than 600.

Flores: “I’m Concerned”

“I’m concerned. We’re out of sync in a lot of ways. Run defense, pass defense, [and] pass rush. We’re a little bit of a step behind, I would say. We’ve got to make a lot of corrections,” Flores said. “We’ve addressed some things, but we’re not seeing the production on Sundays. Really, that’s all that matters. But I would say we are a little bit out of sync.”

Dolphins’ Hot Start Wouldn’t Last

The Dolphins started off hot, scoring on their first two drives. With scoring being an issue over the last few weeks, it looked like Miami was tired of being embarrassed.

It went up 3-0 with a 23-yard field goal from Jason Sanders to close out a 70-yard drive about four minutes into the first quarter.

The Buccaneers responded quickly with Brady’s first TD pass of the day on an 80-yard drive on their opening series, to give Tampa Bay a 7-3 lead.

But here came Miami again, quickly taking that lead back with a 75-yard TD drive, capped off by a 24-yard pass to running back Myles Gaskin. Gaskin alluded veteran position Jason Pierre-Paul to look wide open as he danced into the end zone.

Retaking the lead, 10-7, and holding the lead until the end of the first quarter, the Dolphins would then break down in the second quarter, as well as for the remainder of the game. They were outscored 38-7 for the remaining three quarters of play.

Miami: Outscored 44-3 in Second Quarter Alone this Season

With the assistance of two punts and a fumble by the Dolphins, the Buccaneers would score 17 unanswered points to go into the half. Miami has now been outscored 44-3 in the second quarter alone this season.

“It comes down to just execution. We are not executing at all,” safety Jerome Baker said. “Just the mistakes we made, that was the most surprising thing I guess you could say.”

Tampa Bay Builds on Lead with Help From Antonio Brown, Mike Evans

Those 17 points would come from two more TD passes from Brady and a 42-yard FG off the foot of kicker Ryan Succop. Both TD passes were to the former league-leading receiver, Antonio Brown, including the longest play of the day, which went for 62 yards. Not that it would make a difference in the end, but punter Bradley Pinion did come up short on a 60-yard field goal that would’ve given the Buccaneers a controlling 27-10 lead at halftime.

That only raises the question, what do you do when you’re up 24-10 at the half and your QB already has three touchdown passes?

Aside from letting your opponents score on their first drive after the half, you pile it on some more.

Tampa Bay’s only punt of the day was on their first drive fresh out of the half, and Miami was quick to attack the drive after. Gaskin’s second receiving touchdown of the day was from one yard out and would be the Dolphins’ final points of the day.

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Glimmer of Positivity: Gaskin Makes History

Gaskin is the only player in team history whose primary position, RB, but yet has multiple games with at least two receiving scores. He also had two TD receptions on Dec. 26 at Las Vegas.

With the assistance of two more punts and an interception thrown by QB Jacoby Brissett, the Buccaneers had themselves three more TDs.

Brissett Shown Up By Backup Gabbert in QBR

The Dolphins were beaten so badly in this one, even Blaine Gabbert, the Buccaneers backup QB, would finish with a higher rating than Brissett.

Gabbert had himself 41 yards with four completions on four attempts, while Brady would finish the day with 411 passing yards and five touchdown passes.

Tampa Rushing Game Heats Up

The Buccaneers had more than three times the rushing yards as the Dolphins, most coming from RB Leonard Fournette, who carried the ball 12 times for 67 yards and a TD.

Gaskin finished as the Dolphins’ leading rusher today, carrying the ball five times for 25 yards. However, his performance through the air was much more impressive, having 10 receptions for 74 yards and Miami’s only two TDs of the day.

Brissett wasn’t the winning QB, but his numbers weren’t awful. He finished 27-for-39 for 275 yards and the two scores. Additionally, WR Preston Williams had three catches for 60 yards and was another notable performer for the Dolphins.

The Buccaneers had two receivers with more yards than any Dolphins, with Mike Evans’ six catches for 113 yards and two scores as well as Brown’s seven catches for 124 yards and two scores of his own. WR Chris Godwin also had seven catches for 70 yards, but no scores to his credit.

Gesicki Speaks on Locker Room as Team Prepares for London National Game

“I don’t think there’s any negativity in our locker room,” tight end Mike Gesicki said. “I think there’s a lot of guys wanting to improve, guys wanting to get better. Nobody sets their sights on 10 wins or nine wins or 11 wins or whatever. That’s what you guys can talk about, but that’s not what we’re interested in. We’re one day at a time.”

Miami will make the long haul to London, England to take on the winless Jacksonville Jaguars as it faces its second Florida team in as many weeks. The Dolphins open favored by three points.

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– Christian Chappell is a Sports Contributor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. Like and follow on Follow @cmoneypc Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.