Five takeaways as Quinn Ewers helps lead Dolphins to 20-17 win over Bucs
Everybody remembers their first.
Their first kiss. Their first car. Their first house.
For Quinn Ewers, he will always remember Dec. 28, 2025 because it was the day he not only threw his first touchdown pass — a 63-yard catch-and-run from fellow rookie Quinn Ewers — but also notched his first win.
“It’s special,” Ewers said. “It’s what I always dreamed of — playing in this league at the highest level.”
The rookie signal caller tossed two touchdowns en route to the Miami Dolphins’ 20-17 over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After he tossed a pair of interceptions in Week 16, he protected the ball well, completing 64-percent of his passes for 172 yards on the day. Ewers even outplayed Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, who threw for 346 yards and two touchdowns but also two picks.
With the win, the Dolphins significantly dampened the Bucs’ playoff hopes, forcing Tampa into a win-and-get-in game against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18.
Run game gets cooking
One of the best ways to help a rookie quarterback is to have a solid run game.
Well, De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright certainly assisted Ewers in that regard.
The two combined for 139 of the Dolphins’ 145 yards while Achane added another 29 through the air. Achane led all rushers with 83 yards on 18 carries while Wright picked up another 56. Jaylen Waddle, who was held without a catch for the first time all season, added seven yards.
Dolphins stop run
The Achilles heel of the Dolphins defense has been opposing offense’s ground attack.
From the beginning of the season, they’ve ranked towards the bottom in terms of run defense.
Luckily, Miami faced a Bucs team that ranks 20th on the ground – and they certainly showed it. The Dolphins allowed just 53 yards rushing, their second-best performance all year.
“It was gigantic,” coach Mike McDaniel said of the run defense. “We thought that we hadn’t done ourselves justice the last couple weeks with some controllable things, just playing our technique and fundamentals. I thought that overall, our run defense showed out because of our collective team mindset to just play convicted football and focus on your next to-do and not focus on whatever’s happening in the game.”
Bucky Irving led all Bucs rushers with 19 yards while Mayfield came in second with 16. Rachaad White and Sean Tucker added another 10 and eight, respectively.
Third down issues
Both teams seemingly struggled on third downs.
In fact, the Bucs were markedly better, converting 42% of third downs while the Dolphins went four-for-12. Against a better team, this wouldn’t suffice. Luckily, the Bucs have struggled as of late since their 5-1 start to the season.
Mike Evans in a seatbelt
Evans has been one of the most consistent receivers in NFL history.
Case in point: he owns the record for consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, a mark that unfortunately will end at 11 after a broken collarbone forced him to miss a significant chunk of the 2025 season.
That said, Evans was held in check for most of the game, recording 31 yards and a late-game touchdown. Most of the credit goes to cornerback Rasul Douglas who, despite the seven targets, limited him to just three catches.
“I think it was just the embraced challenge of the entirety of the defense,” McDaniel said, adding that “it’s not about eliminating, it’s about minimizing.” “I would imagine he would be first ballot Hall of Famer, and when you have a player like that, you don’t get rattled when he does have his success. You embrace the challenge, and that’s the entire defense because you have to be good at stopping the run. When you’re a little light in boxes, you have to be aggressive, and in those man situations, you have to be fearless. I thought there were a couple of instance in particular where you saw Rasul really embrace the challenge.”
Instead, it was Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan who balled in the Bucs’ receiving core, snagging seven catches a piece for 107 and 114 yards, respectively.
Dolphins win turnover battle
The Dolphins have won the turnover battle just seven times in 2025.
Turnovers, of course, have a direct correlation with victory, hence why the Dolphins had just six wins on the season coming into Sunday.
Luckily, a Jason Marshall Jr. interception swung the turnover battle Miami’s way. A fourth-quarter pick courtesy of safety Ashtyn Davis helped swing the game in the Dolphins’ direction while Bradley Chubb’s strip sack essentially sealed the win.
“In 2023, I got the ball out a lot,” Chubb said. “I feel like that was one area my game was lacking this year, so to come in there and get a little strip-sack, it builds that confidence. I’m ready for next week.”
This story was originally published December 28, 2025 at 4:07 PM.
