Three Bold Predictions for Cardinals vs Dolphins

The Arizona Cardinals rebounded from a brutal loss to the Packers with a terrific win over the Chargers, courtesy of a 32-yard walk-off field goal from Chad Ryland (big fan by the way).

Truly, the Cardinals have found ways to make it work this year and grind out tough wins. Can they get back to the .500 mark when they visit the Miami Dolphins?

Miami has struggled mightily this season as evident by their 2-4 record, however there is a lot of onus on the missing Tua Tagovailoa from the lineup after the fifth-year QB sustained a concussion in week two. Tagovailoa is back from injury and is likely hungry to remind the NFL how good he and the Fins’ offense are.

The Cardinals will need to respect Tagovailoa even off an injury due to the weapons at his disposal (more on them later). Miami also has a rock solid defense that will test Kyler Murray and the offense. But with all of that in mind, this is a winnable game.

Coming right at you are three bold predictions for this game. Let’s get started.

Murray has been on more often than not this season, but the passing yards haven’t truly reflected that. Through seven games, Murray is only averaging around 190 passing yards per game and has four games with sub-200 passing yards. He has, however, completed over 66% of his passes with nine touchdown throws against three picks.

The sixth-year QB has certainly taken care of the ball this year and done the most of his opportunities, but now he faces the league’s number one pass defense. Miami is allowing just 154.5 passing YPG, more than 10 more yards than the second-place Jets. The Fins have also surrendered just three touchdown passes all year.

With Jalen Ramsey and Kendall Fuller patrolling that secondary, I doubt this will be the week that they fold. There’s also a chance star safety Jevon Holland could return from injury.

This won’t be a pretty week for the Cardinals’ passing game, and I’d advise weighing your options in fantasy football if you can afford to bench Marvin Harrison Jr. – the good news is there’s a great chance that Murray continues being safe with the ball and avoids turnovers to a defense that can’t buy takeaways.

While I anticipate the Cardinals to struggle through the air, they have an opportunity to grind out some yards on the ground and Conner is exactly the man to do that dirty work.

Miami is in the middle of the pack in run defense, allowing 130.7 rushing YPG and a whopping 4.6 yards per carry average plus nine touchdowns allowed. You have to think Conner, who is seventh in the league in rushing yards (504) with 4.6 YPC, is licking his chops to have another good day.

Conner is fresh off a 100-yard rushing performance against the Chargers and has passed the century mark two other times this season. Arizona is 2-1 when he runs for over 100 yards and 3-1 when he tops 80. Certainly, a big day is more than welcome for the Cards.

If Conner can step up like I think he can, the Cardinals have a puncher’s chance to leave South Beach with a win.

I can’t think of another NFL player who is dying to return to relevance than Hill, who has been forgettable at best with Tua sidelined with a concussion. With his quarterback’s return, don’t be surprised to see Hill reclaim his status as the go-to/top option in this offense.

While I understand that Tua will likely need a few drives to get back to 100%, and believe me when I tell you that I DO NOT expect an elite performance from the former Pro Bowler, I am 100% all-in that Hill is going to go bananas.

Hill is simply a different player when Tua is on the field whether he’s perfectly healthy or not. With his return to the lineup after clearing concussion protocol, don’t be shocked when Hill torches the 26th worst pass defense in the league.

The Cardinals cannot stop the inevitable. If they want to win this game, they have to manage Hill… but with that said, he’s cruising past the century mark and will do everything he can to find the endzone again.