Will Dolphins bounce back from embarrassing prime-time losses?

The Miami Dolphins are coming off a streak of three-straight prime-time games, having played the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football in Week 8, the Oakland Raiders on Sunday Night Football in Week 9, and the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football in Week 10. Now, heading into Week 11, the team should have been headed into their one off weekend of the year, but the bye week was taken away from them when Hurricane Irma forced the postponement of the team’s Week 1 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With a loss in each of those three prime-time games, and two of them in blowout fashion, will the Dolphins be able to bounce back against the Buccaneers, finding a way to right the slumping defense and getting the offense sparked after multiple lack-luster performances over the past few weeks?

The Dolphins will be facing the 27th ranked defense this weekend, with Tampa Bay allowing 376.3 yards per game on the season. The Buccaneers have the 29th ranked pass defense, the 14th ranked rush defense, and the 19th ranked scoring defense, allowing 23.1 points per game this year.

Miami, meanwhile, comes into the game with the 31st ranked offense, gaining just 275.0 yards per game on the season, one yard better than the league’s worst Cincinnati Bengals. In passing offense, the Dolphins are 29th, while being 30th in rush offense. Finally, Miami is dead last in the league in scoring offense, where they are averaging just 15.2 points per game - 0.7 points less per contest than the winless Cleveland Browns.

The Miami defense, which was the strength of the club but is struggling over the past few weeks, is now 17th overall, giving up 341.2 yards per game. They are 15th against the pass, 20th against the run, and are 25th in scoring allowed, with an average of 24.9 points per game.

Tampa Bay counters with the 14th ranked offense, picking up 345.2 yards per game. They are ranked third in passing offense, 28th in rushing offense, and 22nd in scoring offense, putting up 19.2 points per game.

The Dolphins will have the familiarity of having played against Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is expected to start in place of an injured Jameis Winston, ten times. Fitzpatrick has played Miami as the quarterback of two of the Dolphins’ AFC East division rivals, the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. He is 5-4 as a starter against Miami, with one additional appearance as a backup.

Will the Dolphins be able to bounce back against the Buccaneers? Can they get back to .500 and end their three-game losing streak?