The Miami Dolphins (4-3) are coming off their most impressive win of the season. On the back of a strong defense and special teams, they hammered the Los Angeles Rams (5-3) 28-17 last Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium. There was, however, some weakness on the offensive side.
The biggest issue the team will face this Sunday at 4:25 p.m. in Arizona against the Cardinals (5-2) is quarterback Kyler Murray. He has had some up and down performances throwing the football so far in his sophomore season, but his ability to run the football is a killer for most defenses.
427 total yards ✓
4 total touchdowns ✓
NFC Offensive Player of the Week ✓@K1 x #WinFromWithin pic.twitter.com/7F04hVmvwv— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) October 28, 2020
Murray has had passing issues against some pretty weak defenses including the Detroit Lions in Week 3, the Carolina Panthers in Week 4, and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6. His most impressive performance of the year was on primetime television two weeks ago against the Seattle Seahawks, when he passed for 360 yards, three touchdowns and a pick.
Arizona has been an interesting team even at (5-2) this season. Its most impressive win was against the then-undefeated Seahawks, but the other wins weren’t against good teams. Their losses are also against poor defenses, which makes this game an easy NFL national media trap game.
The national media has been against the Dolphins for a majority of the 2020 NFL season. They were very critical of the move to Tua Tagovailoa last weekend, and also of the offensive line. And there was a lack of credit to the team’s defensive performance against the Rams.
Dolphins defense, have a day!!!
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) November 1, 2020
ESPN’s Mina Kimes was one of the very few I saw giving credit. This was impressive considering the hate she and fellow co-worker Dan Orlovsky faced when critiquing the team’s offensive line earlier last week.
The main issue the Dolphins will face this weekend will be their very own offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. Calling Gailey being “conservative” with his play-calling last week against the Rams is too nice. He strategized as if he was scared. Yes, Tua didn’t look amazing last week (multiple dropped balls on offense though) and the team didn’t need to go crazy because it led almost throughout the game. This week, Gailey needs to call the offense with assertiveness.
Prediction: Dolphins win 24-17 and improve to 5-3
This game could go either way for the Dolphins. But they should win and then have a five-game stretch in which they finish 3-2 at the very worst. If the Dolphins beat the Cardinals this weekend, they should run the table and finish 5-0 before their final regular-season matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
