The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had perhaps their easiest game of the season, defeating the Miami Dolphins, 45-17.
Antonio Brown caught two first-half touchdown passes from Tom Brady, and with an early first quarter reception, he became the quickest NFL player to 900 receptions. His touchdowns were a 62-yarder and a 4-yarder, both in the second quarter.
Miami took advantage of depleted Bucs' secondary, dinking and dunking short passes to lead 10-7 after the first quarter, the big play for them a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett to Myles Gaskin. And that was all the scoring for the Dolphins in the first half, which included a 23-yard field goal by Jason Sanders on their opening drive.
Tampa Bay's first score came on a 10-yard reception by running back Giovanni Bernard, with 7:04 left in the first quarter.
The Buccaneers scored 17 unanswered in the second quarter, highlighted by Brown's scores and a 42-yard field goal by Ryan Succop.
The Dolphins hung tough, making in 24-17 after an 87-yard drive in which Richard Sherman was called for pass interference in the end zone, giving the Dolphins a first and goal. They punched it in 2 plays later on a 1-yard reception by Gaskin.
Tampa Bay answered that drive with a long touchdown drive of their own spanning the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter, Leonard Fournette running it in from five yards out to extend the lead to 31-17.
The Buccaneers added another TD in the 4th on a 34-yard pass from Brady to Mike Evans and after a Jamel Dean interception, it was Evans again to put the game away with a 23-yard touchdown catch from Brady, to make it 45-17.
The Bucs are back in action Thursday night, with a road game in Philadelphia against the Eagles. Coverage on 95.3 WDAE begins with Tom Krasniqi and Michael Clayton and Countdown to Kickoff starting a 6 p.m.
Cover Photo: Getty Images