Scooter & Hum: Day 242, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Cardinals Game 8 Review

Miami netted its most impressive win of the year, knocking off a hot Arizona team on the road. The victory was even more important because it came in a game that represented the most obstacles the Dolphins had faced in a single game all season. Not only did the 'Fins have to overcome a dual-threat QB at the top of his game in Kyler Murray, they also had to play through a litany of brutal officiating calls that continually gave the home team life. The bottom line is Miami won their fourth in a row despite it all to push its record to 5-3 at the season's halfway point -- smack dab in the middle of the playoff race.

Offense

The Dolphins took the training wheels off Tua Tagovailoa in this one, and he responded with 248 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 35 yards on the ground. Not only did he connect on 20 of 28 passes and use cadence to draw a couple of offsides penalties, but the kid showed slipperiness in the pocket throughout. He did take three sacks and struggled at times in just throwing the ball away safely, but overall it was a massively impressive performance that only fuels hope for the future.
Behind Tua, Savon Ahmed gave the team a real boost with 38 yards on seven carries, including a 19-yarder. Jordan Howard was stymied with just 19 yards on 10 carries, but his final-drive runs played a vital role in salting the game away. Patrick Laird had an important 17-yard reception along the way to set up a field goal in the final moments of the first half.
Preston Williams was off to a big game (4 grabs, 60 yards, one touchdown) before his ankle injury, but DeVante Parker picked up the slack with 64 yards on six catches, while Jakeem Grant contributed four receptions for 35 yards. Mack Hollins made a great grab on his 11-yard touchdown, proving that he can do more than just excel on special teams.
At the tight end position, Mike Gesicki added 42 yards on three catches, Durham Smythe added a 19-yard catch, and Adam Shaheen ran a nice route to get open in the end zone, but Tua missed him.
The offensive line struggled at times with a dynamic Arizona pass rush and the running holes were few and far between. When the game was on the line, however, the offensive front dug deep to give Tua just a bit more time to make the needed plays down the stretch.

Defense

Murray accounted for 394 total yards and four touchdowns, generally giving would-be tacklers fits all game long. Miami also gave up 178 rushing yards, but most of those came on Murray scrambles.
In the first half, it felt like every big Arizona play came on a third down, but Miami turned that around in the fourth quarter. Miami again lost the time of possession, which led to a gassed defense in the latter part of the game.
Emmanuel Ogbah continued doing Emmanuel Ogbah things, posting five tackles, a sack, a pass breakup, a quarterback hit, and a forced fumble that bookend teammate Shaq Lawson returned for a score. Zach Sieler and Christian Wilkins were active, with Wilkins showing his athleticism by making a couple of plays downfield.
At linebacker, Jerome Baker made seven tackles, but he was laboring out there, and Kyle Van Noy and Kamu Grugier-Hill could never quite nab Murray in space.
Arizona's Christian Kirk roasted Byron Jones repeatedly (123 yards and a touchdown), but Xavien Howard was stellar on DeAndre Hopkins (3 for 30) despite some head-scratching interference calls. For the most part, Bobby McCain and Eric Rowe struggled, with Rowe having a hard time containing Larry Fitzgerald (four catches, 54 yards).

Special Teams

Per usual, Jason Sanders was the story here. He was amazing as always, hitting all four extra points and both lengthy field goals attempts (56 and 50 yards). His 50-yarder not only provided the winning points, but set a team record as his 20th straight made field goal.
Matt Haack was just OK, averaging 41.7 yards on three punts, with one placed inside the 20.
Noel Igbinoghene saw action on returns, taking back two kickoffs for 36 yards. Grant added a 15-yarder, plus a 10-yard punt return.
It should be noted that Ogbah got a hand on the Arizona field goal, but it still went through.

Momentum Plays

After a Miami three-and-out to start the game, Ogbah knocked the ball loose from Murray. Lawson did a nice job waiting for the right bounce to scoop, then got a crucial block from rookie safety Brandon Jones on the way to the end zone for the game's first score.
The Cards tied it up at 7, and on the ensuing drive, Tua suffered a sack that would have set up a 3rd-and-27 or so. Instead, Arizona was whistled for a facemask for an automatic first down, and a few plays later, Howard punched it in for a 14-7 'Fins lead.
'Zona quickly struck back on a 56-yarder to Kirk that saw Jones get burned, but the next Miami drive featured a mix of passes and Ahmed runs. Preston Williams took a 3rd-and-7 pass and leaped over a defender for a touchdown, injuring himself in the process but staking the Dolphins to a 21-14 advantage.
With the shootout officially on, the defenses rose up briefly, with Arizona's Andy Isabella catching a first-down pass, but back-tracking to set up a fourth-down punt. Laird's 17-yard catch and run set up a 56-yard field goal from Sanders to establish a 24-17 Miami lead at halftime.
On the second-half kickoff, Van Ginkel forced a fumble with a big hit on the return, but after a massive pile-up, Arizona retained possession.
The Cardinals followed with a drive that featured a number of horrific officiating calls, including a dropped interception by Byron Jones that was somehow, almost randomly, called a touchdown for Arizona after the tight end finally ended up with the ball 4 yards out of bounds. The score was tied at 24, and Brian Flores was apoplectic.
With the help of another ridiculous pass interference penalty, Arizona converted a fourth down, then scored on another Murray run to go ahead 31-24.
Tua made two tremendous runs in key spots to set up a fade to the little-used Hollins to tie the score at 31 and cap a 93-yard drive that took over 6 minutes and was needed to give an exhausted defense a rest.
After converting one fourth-down on another Murray run, Arizona had another fourth down thanks to a nice tackle by Jones. The Cardinals tried to catch Miami off guard with a run by Chase Edmonds, but Elandon Roberts and Howard made a great stop to earn the ball back for the Dolphins with just 5:15 remaining.
Miami's next drive was highlighted by a tremendous catch by Gesicki and a strong catch by Grant to set up 4th and 1. Instead of going for it in a shootout, Flores elected to kick the field goal, and Sanders paid it off with a 50-yarder for a 34-31 lead. It was a controversial decision at the time by Flo.
The defense gave up a big gainer to Kirk on the Cards' drive, but a bad throw by Murray on 3rd and 1 set up a fourth down and the decision to try a field goal. Somehow, the 49-yarder came up short, giving the ball back to the Dolphins.
Howard's 8-yard run on first down gave Miami a lot of options, and a Tua keeper netted a first down and resulted in victory formation.