Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, in his return to Miami's lineup after a four-game absence, led a strong game for the Dolphins' offense, but it wasn't enough as the Arizona Cardinals scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to hand the Dolphins a 27-28 loss on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium.
Tagovailoa completed 28-of-38 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown, adding 13 yards on three carries. The Dolphins also had success running the football, totaling 150 yards on 25 carries (6.0 avg.), marking the third-consecutive game the team hit the 150-yard threshold on the ground. Running back De'Von Achane led the charge, rushing for a season-high 97 yards on 10 carries (9.7 avg.), and adding another 50 yards and a touchdown through the air. Running back Raheem Mostert also found the end zone twice on the day, including on the team's opening drive, and added another 19 yards on nine carries (2.1 avg.).
Miami's offense started hot out of the gate, going 10 plays for 64 yards to find paydirt in the opening stanza. A shovel pass from Tagovailoa to tight end Julian Hill brought the Dolphins tothe Arizona one-yard line. Mostert scored on the following play, giving Miami a 7-0 lead with 10:15 remaining in the first quarter.
The Dolphins swiftly shutdown Arizona's opening drive, as cornerback Jalen Ramsey and defensive tackle Calais Campbell batted down a pair of passes by quarterback Kyler Murray to force a three-and-out.
Tagovailoa led Miami on another scoring drive in their second offensive possession. The Dolphins' 12-play, 40-yard drive, which featured two third-down conversions, was capped off by a 53-yard field goal from kicker Jason Sanders, who has made a 50-plus yard field goal in four of Miami's seven games this season.
Arizona responded on their next drive. With an explosive 25-yard connection from Murray to wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to catapult them, the Cardinals traveled 70 yards downfield on nine plays to pull within three, cutting the Dolphins lead to 10-7 with 11:28 remaining in the second quarter.
After both teams traded punts, Miami – starting with the ball on their own five-yard line – ventured on one of its longest drives of the season to close out the first half on a high note.
Tagovailoa found Hill down the right sideline for a gain of 30 yards to put the Dolphins in Arizona territory. An 8-yard pass to Hill and a 16-yard completion to Achane set Miami up with a goal-to-go situation, where Sanders knocked down a 25-yard field goal to give the Dolphins a 13-7 lead at halftime.
Arizona started out the third quarter hot, with Murray finding tight end Trey McBride downfield for 37 yards on the first play from scrimmage. The Cardinals stalled out after that chunk gain but scored after a career-long 57-yard field goal by kicker Chad Ryland to narrow the score to 13-10.
Just like Arizona, Miami picked up a huge gain on their first offensive play from scrimmage of the second half, with Achane scampering for a season-long 47-yard run. Achane finished the drive off for Miami, hauling in in a 12-yard screen pass from Tagovailoa and taking it to the endzone to stretch Miami's lead to 20-10 with 8:31 remaining in the third quarter.
Momentum started to shift in Arizona's favor after the Cardinals tacked on two points following a Dolphins safety, when Miami had a fumbled snap deep in their own territory, which bounced out of the end zone. On the ensuing drive, Murray was effective, completing 4-of-6 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown to Harrison. Running back James Conner was stuffed on the ensuing two-point conversion, which maintained a narrow two-point advantage for the Dolphins at 20-18 with 2:08 to play in the third quarter.
Tagovailoa and Waddle commanded Miami's next scoring drive. The former Alabama standouts paired up for completions of 15 and 13 yards, setting up a second Mostert touchdown that was the finale to the Dolphins' nine-play, 70-yard drive. This was Mostert's first multiple-touchdown game since Week 15 of the 2023 season against the New York Jets.
The Cardinals were not deterred, however. In the final nine minutes of the game, Murray led the Arizona offense on consecutive scoring drives, and the Dolphins offense was unable to find the end zone again. Conner score on a two-yard scamper with 8:47 left in the fourth quarter to narrow the score to 27-25. After a Miami punt, Arizona embarked on their game-winning scoring drive, which took up the final 5:01 of the game and ended with a 34-yard go-ahead field goal by Ryland as time expired.
