The Miami Dolphins take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an interstate battle at Raymond James Stadium in their third preseason game Friday night, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Can the Dolphins pull off the road upset or will the Bucs defend their home field? Let's preview the game and dive into my Dolphins vs. Buccaneers predictions and NFL picks for Friday's preseason Week 3 game, where I have a couple of bets on Tampa Bay to cover the spread early.
Dolphins vs Buccaneers Prediction
- Dolphins vs Bucs pick: Bucs to Cover First Quarter Spread, Bucs to Cover First Half Spread (-110)
My Dolphins-Buccaneers pick is focused on both the first quarter and first half spreads, as I'm betting on the Bucs to cover in both. The best lines are available at FanDuel according to our live NFL odds page.
Dolphins vs Buccaneers Odds
| Dolphins Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3 -110 | 37.5 -110o / -110u | +140 |
| Buccaneers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3 -110 | 37.5 -110o / -110u | -166 |
- Dolphins vs Buccaneers point spread: Buccaneers -3 | Dolphins +3
- Dolphins vs Buccaneers total: Over/under 37.5
- Dolphins vs Buccaneers moneylines: Buccaneers -166 | Dolphins +140
The spread opened at Buccaneers -1.5 and has shifted to -3, while the total opened at 34.5 and has gone up to 37.5 since then.
Dolphins vs Buccaneers Preview
The Dolphins let Tua cook for a drive last game as he went 5/5 and threw for a passing TD. White and Thompson both struggled despite Mike McDaniel giving them plenty of passing plays to capitalize on their opportunity. Both guys have attempted 34 passes through two preseason games and have completed less than 50% of their attempts. They both have a sub-50 PFF grade so far this pre-season.
Tua has obviously been prone to injury throughout his career so it is a little discouraging to see what was projected to be a solid QB room struggle so much in the pre-season. I’m sure Coach McDaniel will want to see improvement from each of his backup QBs before the regular season kicks off.
Mcdaniel stated that some starters will play, while others will rest so it is difficult to say for sure who will take the field for some snaps The WR room is almost entirely nursing some minor injuries as Waddle, Hill, Odell Beckham Jr, River Cracraft, Willie Snead, and Braylon Sanders all are listed on the injury report as of Wednesday. I doubt we see Tua play without any of his core WRs active so we should expect the duo of Mike White and Skylar Thompson for the entire game. They will mostly be targeting guys like Braxton Berrios, Malik Washington, and Erik Ezukanma during the game. The Dolphins offense will likely struggle early as they will be going up against the Bucs 1st team defense for at least the 1st quarter.
Head Coach Todd Bowles announced that we should expect the Bucs starters to play in this game for some amount of time. So far we’ve only seen the combination of Kyle Trask and Kyle Wolford at QB for the Bucs but we should see a few drives of Starter Baker Mayfield here. Wolford has a PFF grade of 74.4 while Trask is down at 57.0 through two preseason games.
The Bucs scored just seven points last week, so I wouldn’t be shocked if Coach Bowles wants to see some spark and signs of life from Baker Mayfield and his starters here. The Dolphins defense has been stellar through two games up-and-down the depth chart, and they just held the Commanders to six points last week.
Still, we won’t see most of the Dolphins starting defenders so expect Baker Mayfield and the first team offense to produce some points early in this game. When Baker leaves the field I’d still give Mike White and Skylar Thompson the edge in QB play over Trask and Wolford despite their struggles the last two weeks.
How to Watch Dolphins vs Buccaneers: Start Time, Channel, Location
| Location: | Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL |
| Date: | Friday, August 23, 2024 |
| Kickoff: | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| TV/Streaming: | NFL+ |
Dolphins vs Buccaneers will be broadcast live on NFL+, as well as local television coverage. Dolphins-Buccaneers is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday night at Raymond James Stadium.
Use Quickslip to Bet Dolphins vs Buccaneers
My Dolphins vs Bucs Prediction: Bucs to Cover
At this current line of -3, I would definitely lean toward the Bucs, as we are guaranteed to see their starters for at least the first quarter, if not the entire first half.
The best way to play this angle is by grabbing the Bucs at -0.5 on the first quarter line or -1.5 on the first half spread as the full game number may start to get dicey once Baker Mayfield and the starters depart from the game.
As mentioned above, White and Thompson have much more experience than Wolford and Trask, so I’d prefer to fade the Dolphins early and often in the first half, rather than taking the full game number.
Dolphins vs Bucs Picks: Buccaneers to Cover 1Q Spread, Buccaneers to Cover 1H Spread
Dolphins vs Buccaneers Betting Trends
- 67% of bets and 79% of the money are on the Dolphins to cover the spread.
- 71% of bets and 84% of the money are on the under.
All data via Action Network's public betting percentages.
