MIAMI GARDENS — If the end of the Miami Dolphins’ season is more about auditioning young players than winning, well, they did both Sunday.
Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers threw his first two NFL regular-season touchdown passes. One of them went to undrafted rookie wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. for his first touchdown catch.
In a game full of firsts for the Dolphins’ youth, the team already eliminated from postseason contention defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had playoff implications in the NFC South on the line, 20-17, on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami (7-9) snapped a two-game losing streak and bounced back from an ugly 45-21 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday in a home victory in the penultimate game of the season.
“It’s special. It’s what I always dreamed of, is playing in this league at the highest level,” Ewers said after his first win as a starter. “We’re not playing for a Super Bowl, so I thought we did a good job of playing for each other and playing for our last names.”
Tampa Bay (7-9) could’ve been eliminated with the loss, but survived thanks to the Seattle Seahawks’ win over the Carolina Panthers.
Ewers, with backup center Andrew Meyer snapping him the football in his first NFL game, was 14 of 22 for 172 yards, threw his first two touchdown passes and did not throw an interception.
“Quinn played a very good game with what we asked him to do, was very responsible but aggressive with the football,” coach Mike McDaniel said.
Running back De’Von Achane had 83 yards rushing and 29 receiving.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield went 33 of 44 for 346 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
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Mayfield quickly drove the Bucs down for a touchdown with 50 seconds left. He hit Mike Evans for a 4-yard score after picking up 59 yards on a pitch and catch to Chris Godwin and got in close thanks to Evans drawing a pass interference against Dolphins cornerback Rasul Douglas.
Achane, though, recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the Miami victory.
Leading, 10-7, deep in the first half, Ewers made possibly his most impressive throw to date as a pro, anticipating tight end Greg Dulcich, who had 58 receiving yards, coming open across the middle and leading him perfectly for an 11-yard touchdown.
“He did a great job of winning on that spin route, crossing that guy’s face,” Ewers said. “I had a great idea of where he was going to be.”
The scoring drive came after rookie cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. had his first career interception, tracking down a deep ball that was underthrown by Mayfield.
Before the first half was over, rookie defensive tackle Zeek Biggers blocked a field goal to preserve a 17-7 advantage going into halftime.
“We’ve been very reliant on the rookie class,” McDaniel said. “It was very calculated, the people we brought in.”
The Bucs crept back within one possession with a Chase McLaughlin field goal in the third quarter after an eight-minute drive, but Miami got those points back with a field goal of its own early in the fourth quarter, which made the advantage, 20-10.
Mayfield was trying to drive the Bucs in the middle of the fourth quarter and down 10, but a downfield throw was intercepted by veteran safety Ashtyn Davis, who secured his first pick with Miami after signing with the team in free agency over the past offseason.
The defense forced another turnover later, when Bradley Chubb stripped Mayfield for his second sack of the afternoon, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Quinton Bell.
The Buccaneers struck first Sunday when Mayfield fired over the middle to Godwin for a 5-yard touchdown that capped a 14-play, 68-yard drive that consumed 7:27 and was extended by a fourth-and-short pickup.
The Dolphins answered later in the first with Ewers combining with Wease, his favorite target in the preseason, wide open for a 63-yard catch and run for a touchdown. It marked the longest play from scrimmage Miami has had all season and evened the score at 7.
Wease said he thought it was fake with how open he was with a clear path to the end zone.
With it being each’s first touchdown, Ewers said he gets to keep the ball but that Wease can get the next.
The Dolphins later took a 10-7 lead on a short Riley Patterson field goal after running back Jaylen Wright set it up by breaking free for a 32-yard rush.
The Dolphins finish the 2025 season at the New England Patriots next weekend.
This story will be updated.
