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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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Running game should be better for Dolphins

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The Miami Dolphins were historically bad when it came to running the football during the 2019 NFL season. The Dolphins were last in the NFL in rushing with just 1,156 yards gained on the ground.

Six NFL players – Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans, Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns, Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers, Ezekiel Elliot of the Dallas Cowboys, Chris Carson of the Seattle Seahawks and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens – gained more yards running the football last season than the entire Dolphins team.

Here’s a great trivia question to stump NFL fans – name the two quarterbacks to lead their team in rushing during the 2019 campaign. Jackson, who set a new NFL single-season rushing mark for QBs, was one of them. But if you got Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick as the other answer, you win a cookie.

In his 15th NFL season, Fitzpatrick, 37, rambled for 243 yards.

That total was enough to lead the Dolphins, and that stat is truly embarrassing. Miami needs to run the football significantly better this season in order for people in Florida to bet on the Dolphins as a legitimate AFC East playoff threat.

Beefing Up the Backfield

The Dolphins signed RB Jordan Howard as a free agent. Photo by: YouTube.com screenshot.

During the offseason, the Dolphins set out to address their needs in the backfield. Matt Breida was acquired in a trade with the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. Jordan Howard, who’s had stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears, was signed as a free agent.

Among NFL running backs from 2016-18, only Elliott and Todd Gurley churned up more yards on the ground than Howard, 25, who gained 3,370 yards over that span. A shoulder injury limited him to 525 yards last season. Howard has also suited up for playoff teams each of the past two seasons.

Breida averaged 5.1 yards per carry for the NFC West champion 49ers last season. He rambled for 623 yards on 123 carries and scored one touchdown. Equipped with explosive speed, he broke 18 runs of 10 yards or more. On average, that means he made a big play 14.6 percent of the times when he ran the football.

A Net Gain

Historically, when the Dolphins run the football well, things tend to go well for them. Miami’s most recent playoff appearance came in 2016. That season, Jay Ajayi rambled for 1,222 yards on the ground. Miami was ninth in the NFL in rushing that season with 1,824 yards gained.

A half-dozen of Miami’s 23 postseason squads have featured a 1,000-yard rusher. The legendary unbeaten Super Bowl champion 1972 Dolphins featured a pair of grand runners. Larry Csonka ran for 1,117 yards, while Mercury Morris contributed an even 1,000.

There were 17 Dolphins playoff clubs that included a running back with 800 or more yards on the ground. Of those that didn’t, several teams – especially the Miami clubs of the early-to-mid-1980s – were prominently led in the ground game by a backfield by committee formula.

Miami’s 1984 Super Bowl team that lost to the 49ers included Woody Bennett (606 yards), Tony Nathan (558) and Joe Carter (495) in the backfield behind rookie quarterback Dan Marino. The following season, four runners went over 250 yards on the ground, led by Nathan’s 667 yards.

Running Still Matters

The NFL might no longer be the run-dominated league that it was in the early 1970s when Miami ruled as kings of the hill. Sharing the workload between Csonka, Morris and Jim Kiick, those Dolphins teams could continually punish and simply wear out a defense.

Certainly, today’s NFL is first and foremost a passing league but to suggest running the football has become an afterthought would be pure folly. Five of the top six NFL teams in rushing yardage during the 2019 season were all postseason participants. Two of the top three – San Francisco and Tennessee – played in their respective conference championship games. Baltimore, which led the NFL with 3,296 yards on the ground, also posted an NFL-best 14-2 regular-season record.

The Dolphins will need to run the ball to succeed this season, whether it’s with the veteran Fitzpatrick or 2020 first-round draft pick Tua Tagovailoa at the helm of the offense. Sending the rookie Tagovailoa on the field to figure out and adjust to NFL defenses without a capable running game at his disposal would be suicide for the kid.

Finishing 2-2 to close out a 5-11 campaign last season, Miami actually averaged 100.75 yards per game on the ground. It was a big increase over the Dolphins’ season average of 72.25 yards per game.

That’s where Breida and Howard could really make a difference in Miami. Last season, Breida was a dangerous weapon in San Francisco’s three-back system that saw him, Raheem Mostert (722 yards) and Tevin Coleman (544) all run for over 500 yards. They were the first team to suit up three 500-yard rushers in the same season since the 1978 New England Patriots.

Working in combination with two-time 1,000-yard rusher Howard, they could provide a dynamic duo in the backfield for Miami.

 

Miami Dolphins: Jordan Howard scampers his way into town

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The Miami Dolphins have been busy in free agency, and Tuesday was no exception. They signed former Philadelphia Eagles running back Jordan Howard to a two-year deal worth north of $10 million.

Howard played with the Philadelphia Eagles last season. He carried the ball 119 times for 525 yards and six touchdowns. Averaging 52.5 yards per contest, he was splitting carries with rookie Miles Sanders.

His best years to this point in his career came with the Chicago Bears. Howard rushed for over 1,000 yards in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in 2016 after rushing for 1,313 yards and six touchdowns. He also proved to be extremely durable in Chicago. Howard started in all 16 games in 2017, and started in 15 out of 16 games in 2018.

The Eagles had Howard play in 10 games, four of which he started.

Howard gives boost to Miami Dolphins rushing game

This is a solid pickup for a Miami Dolphins rushing attack that struggled last season. The Miami Dolphins ranked last in the entire National Football League in rushing. They recorded 305 total points on the season via the running game. Rushing for 1,156 yards on the season, they averaged 3.3 yards per carry.

Howard is definitely an upgrade for a Miami Dolphins rushing attack that needs a boost. This was a terrific signing for the team, considering they did all of their big spending earlier in the process of free agency. He is a veteran pickup that should be able to help them right away. I would not expect a Pro bowl performance from him in 2020, but you never know.

It will be interesting to see if the Miami Dolphins make more moves over the course of free agency. They have done a solid job identifying needs for their team. Not only that, we have yet to see what is going to happen in the Draft.