Dolphins Force Three Baker Mayfield Turnovers, Beat Bucs 20-17

The Buccaneers owe the Seahawks some thanks as they head into Week 18.

Sunday began with the Buccaneers facing possible playoff elimination and they played like a team that has no business being in the postseason against the Dolphins, but they will have a shot to win the NFC South next weekend. The Seahawks beat the Panthers, which means that the Buccaneers can win the division with a win over the Panthers in the final game of the regular season.

If they are going to pull that off, they're going to need to play a much cleaner game than they played on Sunday. Baker Mayfield threw two interceptions and lost a fumble on a sack during a 20-17 loss to the Dolphins. The loss was the seventh in the last eight games for the Bucs and it guarantees they will finish the season with a losing record whether they win the division or not.

It looked like it would be a better day for the Bucs when the game got underway. Mayfield threw a touchdown to wide receiver Chris Godwin to open the game, but the Dolphins scored the next 17 points and the Bucs only moved back within one score on a Mike Evans touchdown catch with 50 seconds left to play.

The Bucs were out of timeouts at that point, however, and that meant the game ended when the Dolphins successfully fielded an onside kick.

Dolphins rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers was 14-of-22 for 172 yards and the first two touchdowns of his NFL career. They also got 139 yards on 23 carries by De'Von Achane and Jaylen Wright as they improved to 7-9 on the season.

The Dolphins will close out the season in New England and they could have a chance to play spoiler against the Patriots, which would be a pleasant way to cap an otherwise disappointing season in Miami.