After a lackluster performance vs. Bengals, Dolphins defense aims to upset Bucs
Jack Jones knows he didn’t have the best game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Miami Dolphins cornerback let up 80 yards and a touchdown when Joe Burrow targeted him. So ahead of the Dolphins’ matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that features two elite receivers in Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka, his motivation was at an all-time high.
“It wasn’t the secondary – it was me,” Jones said of his performance against the Bengals, emphasizing that he let up “three bombs.” “We’ve been playing well all season. I just got to get right.”
As the Dolphins’ 2025 comes to a close, the Buccaneers sit as one of the last two tests of the season. Unlike the New England Patriots, Miami’s final opponent, Tampa Bay features a future Hall-of-Famer in Evans and a rookie in Egbuka who could up as the best of the 2025 class. That it will be solely on the secondary to limit the receiver duo is inaccurate; instead, it will require a team effort.
“One of the things that people shortchange with receivers, especially a combination of talented receivers or a good receiving core, is how the team’s success defensively against those threats is across the board in all three levels,” coach Mike McDaniel said. “When you’re playing good receivers you have to, at times, be able to insulate the field which means your front seven has to have some really good gap integrity, your backers have to be able to two gap, you have to be able to stop the run in those shells or play coverage and get home rushing the passer with four.”
This comes a week after Burrow’s 309-yard, four-touchdown performance earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week. His star receiver duo – Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins – combined for a solid 12 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown.
“I thought our strain and our effort and our spirit was right; our execution was poor,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said, later adding that “it doesn’t matter what level you play football on, when that happens, you’re going to give up points. I blame myself for that. Our process needs to be better throughout these weeks and we got to make sure we remedy that this week.”
As McDaniel mentioned, everything starts with the front seven. The Dolphins got a blessing with the loss of perennial Pro Bowl tackle Tristan Wirfs, who won’t suit up with a toe injury. Still, it will be incumbent upon edge rushers like Chop Robinson and Bradley Chubb to take advantage. It starts, however, with a curbed run game.
“We just got to go out there and stop the run,” Robinson said, adding that that will put more pressure on Mayfield. “He likes to run and stuff like that so we just have to take advantage and get after him.”
That, of course, is easier said than done. The Buccaneers have a quarterback by the name of Baker Mayfield who has willed himself to back-to-back Pro Bowls since his arrival in Tampa. And while his 1,500 career rushing yards don’t scream “exceptional runner,” he can certainly use legs. Just ask the New York Jets, a team that saw him scramble for a career-high 33-yard rush.
“He’s not going to get down with the first contact,” Chubb said. “He’s not going to get down with arm tackles and stuff. I feel like just getting him moving around and getting him uncomfortable in the pocket, that’s what it comes down to each week though honestly – making the quarterback uncomfortable that way the coverage can get a little more sticky so we can have time to get to the quarterback.”
What will make Sunday’s matchup even more intriguing will be the usage of young guys like Dante Trader Jr. and Jason Marshall Jr., both of whom received an uptick in playing time against the Bengals.
“You just don’t want any of those guys to play timid,” Weaver said. “We respect all the guys that we line across from. They’re obviously accomplished receivers, but each and every one of those guys we have on the field belong there, so trust your technique and fundamentals. Challenge these guys and when opportunities to make plays present themselves, make them. It’s that simple, right, it’s like basketball – it’s a make or miss league. You got to make plays when they present themselves and for the past two weeks, we’ve had some opps, and we just haven’t been able to come away with the ball.”
Regardless of who’s out there, there’s more at stake than just a regular, end of season victory. The Buccaneers, for one, need a victory to keep their postseason hopes alive. That means Miami can potentially spoil their cross-state rival’s playoff chances, something that can make their own sub-.500 season a bit less lackluster.
“We gonna try to send them to Cancun with us!” Jones said.
