Bucs misses the field goal in the last second and drops the preseason opener 26-24 against Dolphins

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers narrowly failed in Saturday night’s preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins, missing a last-second field goal on the buzzer to lose their Sunshine State counterpart 26-24.

Jose Borregales’ 49-yarder bounced off the right post as the clock hit all zeros, just after the kicker nailed a practice kick after a time-out from the Dolphins.

After two drives from veteran backup Blaine Gabbert, one of which ended with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jaelon Darden, sophomore quarterback Kyle Trask took over behind center for the rest of the game. The former Florida Gator put on an impressive performance, completing 25 of his 33 pass attempts for 258 yards and a touchdown.

Trask recovered just before halftime from two costly turnovers that allowed the Dolphins to take the lead and led the Bucs with multiple hits to jump back in front in the second half. He made several big plays on the last drive to set up the potential game-winning kick and made a strong statement in his attempt to replace Gabbert as Tom Brady’s backup this season.

Tampa Bay’s young wide receivers had a great night, led by Tyler Johnson’s six receptions for 73 yards. Kaylon Geiger and Jerreth Sterns combined for eight receptions and 103 yards, with Sterns picking up a 19-yard touchdown from Trask.

On defense, the Bucs were led by a trio of sacks, one each coming from Anthony Nelson, Cam Gill and Pat O’Connor.

Despite the miss, Borregales had a strong night nailing a 55-yard field goal that would have been good for much longer.

The turnovers were key for Miami, who won despite being beaten by the Bucs 389-242 in aggregate while converting just two of their 10 third-place tries.

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Story originally appeared on Buccaneers Wire