The Miami Dolphins host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday the 27th at Hard Rock Stadium. It’s a game between two teams with losing records, the Dolphins sit at 2-4 while the Cardinals picked up a big win on Monday night football to move to 3-4. Below I will talk about how I expect the game to go, as well as some fun matchups/storylines to watch out for on Sunday. Let’s get into it.
For the Miami Dolphins, their most valuable player to the team is back. Tua Tagovailoa is set to start this Sunday and is fully off of IR. It was mentioned in his press conference that he has been mentally preparing to step back on the field and throwing the ball around. It should also be noted that he has been symptom free almost immediately after the Thursday night football game.
For the Dolphins, this unlocks a part of their game that has been stripped for the last 5 weeks, a downfield passing attack. Last week neither Tyler Huntley or Tim Boyle were able to throw for 100 passing yards, it was inevitable that they would lose. Having Tua back means the Dolphins bring back the man who threw for the most passing yards in the NFL last year, it’s a much needed addition to the team.
On the other side of it, Kyler Murray has been playing well for the Cardinals. He led his team with two touchdowns to victory over the Chargers last night. Murray has been playing well this year, but will have a test against a good Dolphins defense. The Dolphins held Indianapolis to 16 points, and if the Dolphins didn’t fumble twice in the second half of their last game it would have been even less points. Kyler will be tested.
The Dolphins run game has been decent this year and should only be better now that the commander of the offense is back. DeVon Achane, Raheem Mostert, and Jaylen Wright are all talented backs who can break away for a massive gain at any time. The Cardinals run defense is nothing special, they have some big run defending interior players like Roy Lopez and LJ Collier, but do not have any notable defensive lineman who could take over a game. I expect the Dolphins run game to look sound against them.
For the Dolphins passing game, if there is any game where they can get back on track it is this one. The Cardinals secondary is young and inexperienced. They have a good safety duo in Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker, but are completely outmatched with their cornerbacks. Miami’s wide receivers should have a field day with Max Melton, Sean Murphy-Bunting, and Starling Thomas V.
The Cardinals offense has struggled the last two weeks, but the Dolphins will not take that unit lightly. The Cardinals scored 69 points the first two weeks of the season, so there is clearly an explosive element to their offense. It starts with Kyler Murray who has 11 touchdowns to 3 interceptions this year. He has been great to say the least through the air and on the ground. His favorite targets are tight end Trey McBride and wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Combined they have 88 targets and 622 receiving yards. If they want to be victorious, they need to get these two playmakers the ball.
Getting the ball to Harrison will not be an easy task however, as he will have either Jalen Ramsey or Kendall Fuller on him at all times. Ramsey and Fuller have been a great duo so far this year, and have kept the Dolphins in some games they didn’t deserve to be in.
The Cardinals run game features a QB run element, as Kyler is one of the most elusive QBs in the NFL. Veteran James Conner is a consistent starting running back, but they have a dynamic young back behind him in Emari Demercado. Demercado is rushing for 8.9 yards per carry this year on 13 carries, so he will likely earn more and more carries as the year goes on. The Dolphins need to keep an eye on him if they want to eliminate explosive plays.
The Dolphins defense is stout on all fronts, their linebackers have been playing great, run defense has been good, and secondary has been great. A few weak spots for them are safety and pass rush. Jevon Holland is out for the Dolphins and is questionable when his return is, Marcus Maye and Jordan Poyer have not been getting the job done in his absence. The pass rush also hasn’t been getting home for Miami, they have been needing to send the blitz to keep QBs uncomfortable. Chop Robinson, Emmanuel Ogbah, Tyus Bowser, and Quentin Bell need to step up in a big way if the Dolphins defense wants to be a consistently dominant unit.
The game should be an exciting one, there are a lot of star football players out on the field. The last time the Dolphins played the Cardinals Tua and Kyler lit up the scoreboard. This was Tua’s second NFL start, and he squeaked out a win against Kyler. I expect this game to be another good one where there are lots of points. I expect the Dolphins to win 27-21.