The biggest story in Week 8 surrounding the game between the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins was the return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He played for the first time since suffering what appeared be a terrible concussion in Week 2. He missed four games on injured reserve.
Tagovailoa was good and Miami’s offense returned to form, but the Cardinals spoiled the afternoon, and it was the appearance of the passing game that did it.
They beat the Dolphins 28-27 on a game-winning 34-yard field goal by Chad Ryland as time expired.
Facing the league’s No. 1 pass defense, Kyler Murray was 26-for-36 passing for 307 yards and two touchdowns. He finished with a passer rating of 116.3. It was his first 300-yard passing game in almost two years. His last one was in Week 8 in 2022 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Not only did Murray look sharp, the Cardinals’ expected big performers as pass catchers were big performers.
Tight end Trey McBride had his best game of the season with nine catches for 124 yards. He had two catches in the game-winning drive.
Rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. had six catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. His six catches were the most he has had in a game and 111 yards were the most since 130 in the first quarter against the Rams in Week 2. He had four of his catches and 78 of his yards in the second half.
Murry was not sacked and was hit only once.
Tagovailoa played well for the Dolphins. He went 28-for-38 passing for 234 yards and a touchdown. His only hiccup was three fumbles. Two were recovered by Miami and the last was a bad snap that he knocked out of the end zone for a safety.
Not only was it the first 300-yard passing game for Murray since 2022, it was the first time under head coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing that the Cardinals had 300 passing yards in a game.
What we now must wonder is if performance is the start of a trend or if it is just a one-time thing. If they have found the passing game, the second half of the season will be fun.
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