Preseason: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Miami Dolphins 8/13/22 NFL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins do battle Saturday night in NFL week 1 preseason action at Raymond James Stadium. The Miami Dolphins have won 6 of their last 8 preseason games. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won 4 of their last 6 preseason games.

The Miami Dolphins are working in a new head coach in Mike McDaniel and a new offensive coordinator in Frank Smith. It will be interesting to see how these changes impact quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. What we do know is there are no more excuses for Tua with improved offensive weapons in Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson Jr., as well as an improved offensive line with the addition of Terron Armstead. The Dolphins offensive line has to drastically improve as a unit if this offense is going to be successful. Defensively, the Dolphins are pretty much the same squad they were a year ago, but this is a chance for Melvin Ingram III to prove there’s something left in the tank. Miami should also be looking at linebacker depth with guys like Duke Riley, Jaelan Phillips, and even rookie Channing Tindall, taking that next step in their careers. There’s a potential sleeping giant in Miami if everything breaks well. 

Don’t expect Tom Brady to play much if at all this preseason and Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are still dinged up, so the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be rolling out a ton of backups for this game. The Bucs have backup quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask and Ryan Griffin. As for position battles, the Bucs have to find a replacement for Rob Gronkowski, and there’s competition at left guard between Luke Goedeke and Aaron Stinnie. Defensively, Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal are battling for a safety spot alongside Antoine Winfield Jr. Defensive back depth is key for the Buccaneers overall after so many injuries last year and being exposed. Remember, things go so bad that Tampa Bay snagged Richard Sherman off the street and actually started him in 3 games.

The Dolphins are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games and 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The Buccaneers are 11-3 ATS in their last 14 home games and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The under is 7-3 in Dolphins last 10 games overall. The under is 8-3 in Buccaneers last 11 games on grass. The Dolphins are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 meetings.

I doubt we see Brady in this contest or any of the Bucs starters for that matter, so you’re going to get a boatload of below average backup quarterbacks for 60 minutes. No, thanks. The Dolphins have a new coaching staff and a bunch of key players they’re working in the mix, so expect them to play some series. Also, Teddy Bridgewater is arguably the best backup quarterback in the league, and that’s massive in the preseason, where he’ll get considerable reps. The Dolphins should win this game.