Tampa Bay Buccaneers are within touching distance of their first victory of the season after a dominant first half against the Miami Dolphins, heaping misery on their Florida rivals to build a 15-7 lead at the interval.
Miami arrived in Tampa hoping for a positive distraction following intense scrutiny over the harassment accusations levelled at the suspended Richie Incognito, with the Buccaneers quick to seize control early on.
Tampa caught the visitors cold as left tackle Donald Penn claimed an early touchdown pass for a one-yard score, left wide open for Mike Glennon to find from close range.
The Buccaneers built on that momentum as Rian Lindell extended their advantage with a 24-yard field goal, leaving Miami frustrated as Ryan Tannehill struggled to find his range on offence.
Early in the second quarter the home fans were cheering once again as Tampa secured a two-point safety, with Daniel Thomas dropped in his own endzone as the Dolphins were caught off-guard.
Lindell then made good on another field goal as the Buccaneers pushed 15 points clear, with Miami finally offering some kind of response late in the half as Tannehill led them into the red zone with a minute to play.
Tannhehill's 12th successive completion gave Miami a lifeline and their first points of the night, picking out Rishard Matthews with a late score to make the match competitive once again.
