Miami Dolphins-Arizona Cardinals Week 8 Instant Takeaways

What stood out in the Miami Dolphins' Week 8 game against the Arizona Cardinals:

We start with the list of inactives, highlighted by a trio of defensive players out due to injury: DT Zach Sieler (eye), CB Kader Kohou (neck) and CB Storm Duck (ankle). Also inactive were LB Mohamed Kamara, TE Tanner Conner, RB Jeff Wilson Jr. and OL Andrew Meyers.

With only Tua Tagovailoa and Skylar Thompson on the active roster, No player was named the third emergency quarterback.

Cornerback Cam Smith, the team's first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, was active for the first time this season after being activated from injured reserve earlier in the week.

We obviously have to start with Tua Tagovailoa, and this was a very good first start in his return from his concussion. He had a few great throws, with the teardrop to Tyreek Hill being the obvious highlight, but more importantly executed the offense very smoothly.

It's probably no coincidence that the offense was much better on third down.

The biggest problems for the offense were actually a few snap problems, including the one that led to an Arizona safety. This is the type of sloppy stuff the Dolphins need to clean up if they want to get back into the playoffs.

We can probably make the declaration now that De'Von Achane is RB1, and we kind of understand why. That was the performance we were used to from him as a rookie. Achane was also a factor in the passing game.

A key factor in this game was how well the Dolphins defense was able to contain James Conner, and mission accomplished.

The problem on defense was keeping tight end Trey McBride in check when he passed the 100-yard mark.

In the end, the undermanned defense couldn't close the deal and the Dolphins found themselves on the wrong end again even after Tua's return.

The Dolphins got the ball first on offense after the Cardinals won the throw and put it back, meaning we didn't have to wait and see what the offense would look like with Tua.

Although there were a few hiccups, it was as good an opening drive as any Dolphins fan could hope for, including two conversions in the third.

Most of Tua's throws were safe, short completions, but the offense obviously seemed livelier and more efficient than when Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle or Tyler Huntley were at quarterback.

The two hiccups on the drive occurred when Robert Jones allowed Dante Stills to penetrate, allowing Stills to knock the ball out of Tua's hands. And then there was Julian Hill's blunder, whose season was all about penalties, but which was recovered by Jones.

The Dolphins' first defensive series featured batted balls, with Jalen Ramsey and Calais Campbell doing the honors. Ramsey's takedown came in a blitz attack, something he's done so well for Miami all season.

Perhaps the most notable thing about the Dolphins' second drive was that they had Tua throw on third-and-1, the first time in 10 such situations this season that they didn't run the ball. Tua connected with Jonnu Smith for a 4-yard gain.

The Dolphins wasted a down in that series when Tua fumbled a snap by Aaron Brewer, but he was able to fall on the loose ball.

This drive did not include any pass attempts to Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle and ended with a 53-yard field goal by Jason Sanders.

Arizona took the lead on the second drive, and it was all about Kyler Murray.

The drive started with a nice throw downfield between defenders in zone coverage that gave Marvin Harrison Jr. a 25-yard gain.

Murray's speed in the pocket came into play twice as he eluded Ramsey on the blitz, first for a 7-yard completion to former Dolphins draft pick Elijah Higgins and second on his 6-yard touchdown pass to Michael Wilson on third-and-goal.

Benito Jones' great penetration helped the Dolphins stuff James Conner without allowing him to score a second goal in the first half. The Dolphins actually stuffed Conner the entire first half.

Bad drop by Jonnu Smith on the next drive with a crosser on 2nd and 9. It seemed like he was too afraid of the defender coming at him.

On the third and ninth, Tua went deep for the first time, but his attempt to throw Hill down the left side failed.

Cornerback Kendall Fuller had a great pass breakup on Arizona's next drive on third-and-7 from the Miami 42 and saved some points. While Fuller has been pretty quiet, the word here is that he's been just as good as Xavien Howard over the last two seasons.

The Dolphins began their final drive of the first half at their 5-yard line and Tua made a crucial third-down conversion on third-and-9 because a missed shot would have given Arizona the ball in great field position with the opportunity to score before halftime.

Tua then had his best throw of the first half when he threw a perfect ball down the right sideline to Hill at the Cardinals' 36th line for 30 yards. That's a play the Dolphins couldn't make with any of their backup quarterbacks.

The play set up Jason Sanders' field goal just before halftime that made it 13-7, capping a pretty solid first half overall for the Dolphins.

Of course, the field goal came after the Dolphins made a fade to Hill on third down, which is always a pretty low rate.

Safety Jevon Holland suffered a knee injury in the second quarter and was considered questionable to return.

Tua finished the half 19 of 25 for 162 yards and a passer rating of 92.4.

Linebacker David Long Jr. stayed in coverage against tight end Trey McBride on the first snap of the second half, and it was a bad mismatch that the Cardinals took advantage of for 37 yards. Long is great against the run, but he's not particularly impressive in coverage and the Dolphins need to protect him in that regard.

Achane showed his explosiveness on the Dolphins' first offensive play of the second half when he followed Alec Ingold's lead block but then faked the cornerback out of his shoes and cut inside en route to his 47-yard run.

Jaylen Waddle has to catch Tua's low pass. Period.

It's smart for Tua to slip at the end of his 13-yard scramble on the touchdown drive, even though it was always supposed to be a no-brainer.

The 12-yard touchdown pass to Achane was the kind of play that makes you wonder the Dolphins failed last time. Yes, Tua is a quarterback on a different level than his backups, but that wasn't exactly a big challenge for the quarterback. I'm just wondering.

That's how it went all season for the Dolphins, who got a stop after their touchdown and got the ball back with a 20-10 lead. Aaron Brewer's high shotgun snap, Tua can't handle it, then he hits the ball out the back of the end and it's an Arizona safety and now it's 20-12.

Long had another memorable play when, after a short completion to WR Greg Dortsch, he came in hot on third-and-six to turn a short gain into a 9-yard completion.

The touchdown came when Murray had enough time in the pocket, allowing Marvin Harrison Jr. to get into man coverage behind Jalen Ramsey on a cross route.

Great job by Jorrdyn Brooks bringing down Conner as he tried to jump over the top on the two-pointer to preserve Miami's 20-18 lead.

Tua had a 20-yard completion to Waddle as he immediately threw the ball just inside the number, again the kind of play that makes you wonder why the Dolphins never ran in the last four games – and no, that's it not that Tua is the only one who can do it.

Tua made a nifty 15-yard completion on third-and-5 when he hit Waddle right after he spun offside.

Kudos to Tyreek Hill for a good seal block on Mostert's second touchdown run of the game, the 6-yarder on third-and-goal that made it 27-18.

The Dolphins narrowly managed to force a punt from Harrison on the next drive, which almost sealed the deal.

Murray's agility came into play again on his 22-yard completion to Harrison after Brooks chased him out of the pocket. Honestly, there just isn't much you can do.

The Dolphins had a chance to close the game with a 27-25 lead on offense and advanced through midfield thanks to Tua's third-period completion to Smith over the middle after escaping pressure.

But the Cardinals decided to apply heavy pressure after that, rushing on second and third and the Dolphins having to punt.

The defense needed a stop after Arizona started at the 11 and caught a break when Paris Johnson's holding order put the Cardinals in a first-and-20 situation. But they converted thanks to an 18-yard completion to Harrison in traffic over the middle.

The run defense then faded, allowing a 17-yard run up the middle where he ended up carrying some defenders.

Arizona then got a three-run block-bleeding first down, with Murray using his mobility to get around Emmanuel Ogbah after he penetrated.

That was about as bad as any of the Dolphins' losses so far this season, and Miami is 2-5 heading into a trip to Buffalo.

Pooh.