The Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed one preseason drive with its starters to feel comfortable that the team is ready for the start of the 2024 regular season. Quarterback Baker Mayfield led a precise game-opening touchdown drive to start a 24-14 win over the Miami Dolphins on Friday night at Raymond James Stadium, culminating in Rachaad White's four-yard touchdown run.

"The play-calling was fine [and] I thought everything went smoothly," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "They came out and tried to establish some continuity early on, that's what we were really looking for. The communication was crisp and we executed, so that was a good for first drive."

Prior to the game, Bowles didn't set a specific number of drives or plays for the starting offense, instead focusing on how smoothly the unit operated in the early going. It couldn't have gone much better, with Mayfield leading a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown march, with all seven plays qualifying as a success (the shortest was a three-yard run on third-and-one). Mayfield completed all three of his passes for 54 yards – the highlight a deep sideline pass to impressive rookie WR Jalen McMillan down to the Miami four-yard line – and White ran it in from four yards out without being touched.

"It was efficient," said Mayfield of the opening drive. "Obviously, the movement at the line of scrimmage was why. … Our guys are locked in, exactly what the coaches asked of them. We're ready to go. It was attention to detail, focus on the details. They asked for us to be really physical and I think everybody was."

Getting off to a fast start was important for the Bucs' starting crew, not only because it was their only tuneup for the regular season but also because that was an issue that plagued the offense last year during an otherwise successful campaign.

"We talked about it all offseason, how we need to start faster," said Mayfield. "We're going to have a great defense, so jumping out early is something that's important for us, and just to set the tone. We need to be efficient. We don't need to wait to get hit in the mouth to figure things out and adjust from there. We need to be efficient and we'll still adjust from that. But, yeah, [this was] important for us."

The Buccaneers' starting defense was just as impressive and it also got a quick exit after producing a three-and-out, albeit against Miami's second-string offense. After those two opening possessions, Bowles felt as if he had seen enough, as the Bucs prepare for the regular season opener on September 8.

"It was good that they were ready to play," said Bowles. "They were ready to play longer and they wanted to play longer but I had seen enough. We're getting two weeks ready for the first game; that was all I wanted to see was continuity."

With third quarterback John Wolford ailing, Kyle Trask played the remainder of the game after Mayfield's opening drive and impressively completed 17 0f 24 passes for 141 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 113.4 passer rating. His 10-yard scoring pass to WR Ryan Miller in the second quarter increased the Bucs' lead to 17-0, and he found rookie WR Tanner Knue on a two-yard fade in the fourth quarter to hold off a Dolphins comeback. Trask also completed seven passes for 45 yards to Cody Thompson, as the Buccaneers' battle for the final receiver roster spots comes down to the wire.

The Bucs opened up a 17-0 lead in the first half in part because of defensive stinginess on third down. The Dolphins converted just one of six third-down tries before the intermission, including a sack by rookie Chris Braswell that killed Miami's second drive just across midfield. Rookie linebacker Antonio Grier also had a big night, collecting six tackles, and a game-clinching interception the in fourth quarter. Grier also had an apparent touchdown return of a fumble caused by DL Earnest Brown in the second quarter overturned by replay.

Friday's game was the last collection of evidence for the Bucs' decision-makers as they face next Tuesday's deadline to cut the roster down to 53 players.

"We're going to look at the tape," said Bowles. "There's going to be some tough decisions made in the next couple days, obviously. We have a good team. There were some guys that made some plays but I've got to see the totality of the work."

The Bucs won the game-opening coin toss and White got the ball on the first three plays of the game and turned them into gains of four, five and three yards for a quick first down. A tunnel screen to Godwin was good for nine more and a misdirection screen to White got him a lane down the left numbers for 17 yards to the Miami 32. McMillan ran an out-and-up on the next snap and made a leaping catch at the four just inbounds. Miami Coach Mike McDaniel threw the challenge flag but the rookie receiver had gotten both a foot and a hand down and the play was upheld. White ran it in on the next snap for a four-yard score.

The Buccaneers' defense got off to an equally good start, forcing a three-and-out on Miami's first possession, albeit against the Dolphins' second-team offense. Rookie WR Malik Washington caught a seven-yard pass on first down but two runs by Jeff Wilson were stuffed, the second a loss of one for the LB combo of K.J. Britt and Vi Jones.

The Bucs got the ball back at their 32 after the punt and Trask came in to lead the second-string offense. The drive stalled early, with Trask throwing deep to WR Ryan Miller but just missing down the right sideline. On the ensuing punt, Washington got around the right edge and ran it all the way back to the Miami 46.

Tampa Bay turned to reserves on defense and the first play of the next drive was dramatic. QB Mike White hit Washington over the middle but the receiver took a huge hit from rookie S Marcus Banks to dislodge the ball. An 11-yard screen to WR Anthony Schwartz was followed by an offensive holding call, making it first-and-20 at the 50-yard line. Rookie OLB Chris Braswell dashed into the backfield to break up an intended screen, making it third-and-13, and on the next play Braswell zipped right around the right tackle to sack White for a loss of nine. The result was a punt that went out of bounds at the Bucs' 14.

Trask started the following drive with two straight completions to Thompson, the second an 18-yarder on a crosser after the quarterback appeared to check out of the initial call. After a false start, Johnson ran a quick slant and caught a nine-yard pass in traffic. Two plays later, on third-and-four, Trask threw incomplete and the Bucs had to punt.

Miami started again at its 11 and immediately got it into Bucs territory with an end-around to Washington that he broke for a gain of 40. DL C.J. Brewer dropped Wilson for a loss of four on the next play and three snaps later, on fourth-and-four, rookie S Rashad Wisdom broke up a shallow out to Wilson to turn the ball over on downs.

The Bucs took over on their own 43 and Irving immediately ripped off a nine-yard run to bring the first quarter to a close. A checkdown sideline pass to Thompson created a first down at the Miami 39, but the drive stalled three plays later. K Chase McLaughlin came on to try a 51-yard field goal and he nailed it to increase the Bucs' lead to 10-0 with 13 minutes left in the first half.

Washington took the following kickoff 45 yards out to close to midfield. A pass breakup at the line by C.J. Brewer helped bring up third-and-10 moments later, and S Tavierre Thomas tripped up TE Hayden Rucci well short of the sticks. The Dolphins originally sent out the punting unit, then called a timeout and elected to go for it on fourth-and-eight. The resulting play was dramatic, as it originally appeared as if a strip sack by DL Earnest Brown had led to a long touchdown return by LB Antonio Grier, but the play was reviewed and ruled an incompletion.

The Bucs took over at the Miami 48 and got a quick 13-yards on a play-action pass to TE Payne Durham. A holding call then backed the offense up 10 yards, and two plays later it faced a third-and-five. A screen to Thompson made it fourth-and-one and the Bucs left their offense on the field. Trask lined up in the shotgun and got immediate pressure but managed to get the ball off over the middle to Johnson, who made a sliding catch just past the sticks. Johnson got the ball on the next play, too, on an end-around and weaved through traffic for 11 more to the 13-yard line. Two plays later, Miller an a flag route to the left and Trask threw a perfect pass near the sideline for a 10-yard touchdown to make it 17-10.

After a touchback put the ball at the Miami 30, Skylar Thompson came in at quarterback for the Dolphins and immediately hit Schwartz for a gain of 17. Thompson hit Rucci for gains of six and seven yards and the Bucs drew an offsides call, helping set up a first-and-10 at the Bucs' 27. Another Brewer tackle-for-loss made it third-and-three at the 20, and Thompson got that plus more on a seam-route touchdown pass to Rucci with two minutes left in the half.

The Bucs' offense went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, leading to a punt that gave the ball back to Miami at its 33. The Dolphins also went three-and-out, with TE Jody Fortson dropping what would have been a third-down conversion. Miami's punt went out of bounds at the Bucs' seven with a minute left in the first half. Two plays ran out the clock.

The Bucs kicked off to start the second half and WR Raleigh Webb sliced through the return team to drop return man Kryic McGowan at the 22. A rollout first-down pass intended for Rucci drew a Bucs challenge flag as CB Keenan Isaac nearly scooped the ball off the turf after it went through the tight end's hands, but the incompletion was upheld. An intermediate out to WR Mike Harley picked up 14 yards but was followed by two consecutive holding calls. As a result, it was first-and-17 at the Miami 29, and three snaps later, after a pair of false starts, it was third-and-23 and an underneath handoff to RB Anthony McFarland got just two yards.

An illegal block on the return of the ensuing punt pushed the Bucs' offense back to its own 16 for its first drive of the second half. Trask and the Tampa Bay offense went three-and-out quickly and Nolan Cooney's punt helped flip the field back to the Miami 24. Wright ripped off a 10-yard run to start the next drive, and then another seven-yard gash up the middle. A wheel route to Wright worked to perfection, springing him down the left sideline for 23 yards to the Bucs' 36. A tackle for loss by Bucs DL Lwal Uguak and an offensive pass interference call made it second-and-21 at the 47, and two short incompletions led to a fourth-and-two at the 28. The Dolphins went for it and moved the chains on a play-action outlet pass to Rucci down to the 19. Thompson found McGowan over the middle in traffic at the one-yard line. Two plays later, Thompson faked a handoff, rolled right and hit McGowan for the score with a minute left in the third quarter.

After a touchback that put the Bucs' offense at its own 30, Trask hit WR Tanner Knue on a 22-yard pass over the middle to bring the third quarter to an end. Tucker bounced a handoff around right end for 12 yards to start the next period, and two plays later Trask stood in against a big rush and got off a swing pass to Tucker that produced a big play. Tucker caught the pass and accelerated up the sideline for a gain of 27 to the three-yard line. Two more Tucker runs made it third-and-goal at the two, and a third-down try to Miller was incomplete. The Bucs went for it on fourth down and Knue made a nifty over-the-shoulder catch on a flag route for the score to make it 24-14 with 12 minutes left.

Miami ran the ball for one first down on the next drive and then Thompson rolled right and found Harley near the right sideline for a gain of 25 to the Bucs' 35. On third-and-six from the 31, a great blitz by Grier forced a hurried incompletion. The Dolphins went for it on fourth down and Grier broke up a pass intended for McGowan was broken up by Grier, giving the ball back to the Bucs at their 31.

A Bucs three-and-out and a punt gave it back to Miami at their own 20 with five minutes left. Miami got one first down but Grier ended the Dolphins' last shot with an interception at midfield, which he returned seven yards to the Miami 44.