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Dolphins Win Cardinals

5 Takeaways from Dolphins Win Over Cardinals

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The Miami Dolphins shocked the NFL world again on Sunday, earning a 34-31 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The victory kept them within striking distance of the AFC East lead. But perhaps the best news coming from the win remains the emergence of Tua Tagovailoa.

This win propelled the Dolphins into the AFC playoff picture, despite football pundits once again picking against them. The Dolphins have now won four games in a row for the first time since 2016 and their 5-3 record is their best start through the first eight games of a season since 2014.

Here are five takeaways from the Dolphins’ 34-31 win over the Cardinals.

Dolphins Win Over Cardinals: Tua Definitely QB1

So much of the talk in the wake of Miami’s 28-17 victory over the Rams last week circled around Tagovailoa’s statistical performance. People clamored for more from the rookie. Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey pared down the game plan once Miami’s defense took control.

Against the Cardinals, though, Tagovailoa answered the lingering questions. He completed 20-of-28 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball seven times for 35 yards in this come-from-behind victory.

Tagovailoa authored an impressive 10-play, 93-yard game-tying drive in the fourth quarter of this one. He connected on all five pass attempts during the drive, including a 14-yard strike to DeVante Parker to convert on a third down from deep in Miami’s territory, as well as an 11-yard touchdown to Mack Hollins. Tagovailoa picked up 23 yards scrambling, too, including a six-yard dash to pick up another key third down.

And after the Dolphins defense stuffed a fourth-and-1 attempt by the Cardinals, Tagovailoa maneuvered the team into field goal range for the win. His performance wasn’t perfect, but it was a welcomed sight for the QB-starved ‘Phins.

Jason Sanders, Best K in Franchise History

Tagovailoa set up Jason Sanders for the 50-yard go-ahead field goal with 5:15 left in the fourth. Sanders netted his 20th consecutive made-field-goal with the game-winner. The kick broke the previous team record of 19 straight makes, set by Olindo Mare in 1999. It was the fourth game-winning kick of his career.

Sanders set a new career-long as well with his 56-yarder to end the first half. He became the first kicker in Dolphins history to make two 50-plus yard field goals in the same game.

Sanders now stands as the most accurate kicker in franchise history. He’s made 86.6 percent (58-of-67) of his career tries.

The rest of Miami’s Special Teams Unit has performed well, too. Punter Matt Haack ranks fourth in punts pinned inside the 20-yard line and ninth in net punting. Jakeem Grant leads the NFL in punt return yards and has the league’s only punt return touchdown.

Dolphins D Does Enough in Win Over Cardinals

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Miami’s main difficulties defensively this season have come against mobile quarterbacks and Kyler Murray proved to be the biggest test thus far. The Dolphins defense came up big early, though.

Emmanuel Ogbah stripped Murray on Arizona’s first possession of the game, and Shaq Lawson scooped and scored from 36-yards out. The Dolphins now have a takeaway in 15 consecutive games, which is the second-longest active streak in the NFL behind Baltimore (21 games).

After that, though, the Dolphins defense struggled to contain Murray. He completed 21-of-26 for 283 yards and three touchdowns. Murray showed his elusiveness throughout, avoiding Miami’s pursuit, gaining 106 yards and a scoring a touchdown.

But in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins defense made the necessary stops.

The Cardinals gained 474 yards of total offense, but just 77 of those came in the fourth. For the game, Arizona piled up an average of 7.18 yards-per-play, but that figure shrank to just 5.13 yards-per-play in their final two drives. That number gets even smaller if you remove Murray’s 35-yard connection to Christian Kirk. Without that play, the Cardinals managed just 3.0 yards-per-play down the stretch.

The Dolphins prevented Arizona from converting any third down attempts in the fourth and stuffed a pivotal fourth-and-1 try to set up the game-winning drive.

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Howard’s Not the Answer at RB

The Dolphins entered this one thin at running back. Myles Gaskin landed on the IR earlier in the week and Matt Breida missed the game with a hamstring injury. Jordan Howard got the start for Miami but couldn’t muster much of an attack.

Howard gained just 19 yards on 10 carries (1.9 yards-per-carry), though he did score from two yards out late in the first. All told, Howard played just 21 of Miami’s 61 offensive plays.

Rookie Salvon Ahmed took the bulk of the snaps at the running back position (28 snaps, 46 percent). Ahmed gained 38 rushing yards in his NFL debut, the most by a Dolphins player in their debut since Jay Ajayi gained 41 yards on Nov. 8, 2015 at Buffalo.

Miami’s running game needs to improve moving forward. The Dolphins gained 91 yards on 25 carries in the win against the Cardinals, a 3.6 yards-per-carry average, which is just okay. But Miami needs to get that rushing total up over 100 yards-per-game to really maximize Tagovailoa’s effectiveness.

Next week, the Dolphins can add newly acquired DeAndre Washington to the mix. Gaskin will be out at least another two weeks and it’s unclear if Breida will be ready to return against the LA Chargers.

Depth Concerns at WR

When Allen Hurns and Albert Wilson opted out of the season, some viewed it as an opportunity for other players to step up. Unfortunately, missing Hurns and Wilson only started the thinning of Miami’s receiving corps. Without rookie Lynn Bowden Jr. on Sunday, the Dolphins saw Preston Williams leave the game after his 9-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

Losing Williams pressed rookie Malcolm Perry in the lineup more than he’s ever been in his short career. Hollins also saw an uptick in snaps.

Grant played 48 percent of the offensive plays and caught four passes for 35 yards. Parker played 90 percent of snaps and led the team with six catches and 64 yards receiving. Even newly promoted rookie Kirk Merritt saw some time.

If Williams’ ankle injury keeps him out an extended period of time, the Dolphins receiving corps is in trouble. Although his skill-set mirrors Parker’s, Williams provides another reliable set of hands for Tagovailoa. Grant should see additional opportunities moving forward. Bowden, if he comes of Reserve/COVID-19 list, and Perry could, too.

Miami awaits the debut of Antonio Callaway, who’s currently assigned to the practice squad but who could see time next week.

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Dolphins Rams

5 Keys to Dolphins vs Rams in Tua’s debut

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The Miami Dolphins (3-3) made headline news during the bye week. The switch to Tua Tagovailoa initiated a cascade of national coverage. Football pundits fell on either side of the fence. A heated debate over the Dolphins offensive line unfolded on Twitter. And all of this amped up the excitement of Dolphins fans as the game versus the Ram (5-2) approaches.

The matchup of a Brian Flores defense versus a Sean McVay offense last happened in Super Bowl LII. New England shut down the Jared Goff-led Rams in the lowest scoring Super Bowl of all-time. Flores’s defense frustrated Goff by alternating looks. That might be something seen in Week 8, especially considering Kyle Van Noy, a key player in Patriot’s defensive effort then, will be on the field for Miami.

At 3-3, Miami is one game out of first place in the AFC East. A win here would be the team’s third in a row and keep them in the thick of the playoff race. The Rams, meanwhile, travel east for an early game on a short week.

Here’s a look at five keys to the Dolphins versus the Rams in Week 8.

Dolphins vs Rams: Be Patient

The Rams defense allows for short completions in the passing game, so be patient. The defense doesn’t disguise coverages often and tends to play straight-up. The deployment of Aaron Donald remains fairly consistent.

LA occasionally tries to disguise their backend coverages through alignment. They hide their 2-deep coverage with an initial Quarters look. Sometimes, they lineup in Quarters then play man-to-man with two deep safeties.

These are approaches that Tagovailoa had success against while at Alabama. These coverages can leave openings in the defense while the defenders flex into the different positions. But the key will be Tagovailoa’s ability to recognize the coverage and deliver the ball to the appropriate place, even if it’s short.

 

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Attack Darius Williams

LA paid a high price for All-Pro corner Jalen Ramsey. He tends to travel from the outside to the slot. Ramsey occasionally mirrors the opponent’s best receiver. He allows just 53.5 percent of passes completed, giving up 5.33 yards per target. While he can be challenged, the Dolphins might look elsewhere.

Ramsey may draw the DeVante Parker assignment for the Rams. Parker’s been the focal point of Miami’s passing attack thus far. He’s seen 40 targets and made 29 catches for 364 yards and two touchdowns, but all of that was with Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The Rams other wide corner is Darius Williams. He’s 5-foot-9, 187-pounds. Williams will likely matchup against Preston Williams, who stands at 6-foot-5 and has caught a touchdown in three of the last four weeks.

Dolphins vs Rams: Use RPO

Next Gen Stats indicated this week that the Dolphins deploy the widest formations in the league (30.1 yards). These wide formations afford space to the receivers and the runners as they move in and out of their routes and cuts. This also spreads out the defense and makes disguising blitz packages somewhat more difficult for some teams.

This wide set up also allows for the offense to use run-pass option, and the switch to Tagovailoa might make that even more likely to happen.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said on his ‘Move the Sticks’ podcast that an anonymous GM called Tagovailoa “the best RPO quarterback he’s ever seen … ball-handling, he’ll hit that slant a million times over.”

Dolphins offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey, was one of the first coaches in the NFL to integrate the run-pass option.

“Chan was a little bit ahead in the RPO game early on before it became I guess, ‘in-style’ for the league,” Dolphins GM Chris Grier said of Gailey back in February.

In his media availability this week, Gailey revealed the team regularly used pre-snap RPOs. He also said Tagovailoa was “good at reading and seeing” when using the option. This could be an element to play on Tagovailoa’s strengths and to mitigate LA’s pass rush.

Attack Jared Goff

The Dolphins have struggled against mobile quarterbacks, but Goff isn’t one of those. He works in the pocket with a strict timing in mind. Goff likes to hit his backfoot and make the throw. If the Dolphins can pressure him off his spot, he’s far less effective.

While Miami features the league’s widest offense, the Rams sport the NFL’s most closed. The closed-in formation could lead to quick option looks and receivers coming free after rub routes. Miami’s secondary will need to maintain discipline and communicate well.

Don’t be surprised if Byron Jones travels with Cooper Kupp, even to the slot. Xavien Howard could pair with Robert Woods on the outside.

Jones and Howard have been targeted a combined 22 times since Jones’s return in Week 5, but they’ve allowed just six receptions for 69 yards. For the season, Miami’s pass defense allows 62.2 percent completion percentage and their 86.3 QB-rating against is ninth best.

Goff enjoys operating out of the play-action, both straight and with a bootleg. His 93 play-action drop backs lead the league and he’s completed 68.8 percent of those attempts. Miami will need to limit the Rams’ effective running game in order to attack Goff.

Dolphins vs Rams: Protect Tua

Obviously.

Last week against the Bears, the Rams registered four sacks and eight quarterback hits. Their 24 sacks are third-most this season and they’ve piled up 86 pressures. Donald has tallied 45 of those pressures on his own. Michael Brockers has 15.

The Dolphins offensive line, meanwhile, has allowed just 10 sacks this season, ninth-fewest in the NFL.

The interior line will be particularly important, and they’ve played well thus far. Ereck Flowers, Ted Karras and rookie Solomon Kindley have surrendered just 21 pressures in 717 combined pass-blocking snaps. Of those 21 pressures, only seven have resulted in quarterback hits.

Tagovailoa can protect himself by not holding the ball for more than about 2.5 seconds. If he does, Donald and the Rams will find him. LA tends to get home with their four-man rush, blitzing only 28 percent of the time (14th-lowest rate).