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The 4-3 Miami Dolphins travel to State Farm Stadium in Week 9 to take on the 5-2 Arizona Cardinals.
Both the Dolphins and Cardinals won their last game, with Miami defeating the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8 and the Cardinals taking down the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7. Arizona had Week 8 off as its bye week.
This game between the Dolphins and Cardinals features two bright young quarterbacks. Miami rookie gunslinger Tua Tagovailoa will make his second career start against former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray. Both youngsters are excited to face each other in what should be an exciting game from start to finish in Arizona.
With the Dolphins-Cardinals game almost here, let's take a look at four bold predictions for the contest from a Miami perspective.
1. Tua Tagovailoa throws two touchdown passes
In his NFL debut against the Rams, Tagovailoa struggled despite the Dolphins getting the win. The lefty went 12-of-22 for 93 yards with one touchdown pass.
Tagovailoa was expected to be below average against the Rams, who have one of the better defenses in the NFL. With another week of practice under his belt with the first team, we expect Tagovailoa to play much better against the Cardinals. Look for the 22-year-old to throw two touchdown passes against an Arizona defense which has been prone to giving up some big plays in the secondary from time to time.
The Cardinals' defense is giving up 20.9 points per game on the season, which is good for ninth in the NFL. However, as we have seen with other teams, NFL clubs coming off their bye week can sometimes be a little rusty, so look for Tagovailoa and the Dolphins to take some deep shots early and test the Cardinals after their bye week.
2. Dolphins pick off Kyler Murray twice
The Dolphins have the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL coming into Week 9. They are giving up only 18.6 points per game on the season and limited the Rams to just 17 points in Week 8 down in South Florida.
Led by Xavien Howard, who has four picks on the season, the Dolphins have racked up seven interceptions as a team in 2020. We have Miami picking off Murray twice in Week 9, and don't be surprised if one of those interceptions is a pick-six.
The Dolphins' defense scored a touchdown in Week 8 against the Rams, as linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel recovered a fumble and took it to the house for 78 yards. If Miami's defensive line can get pressure on Murray in the pocket and keep the edges locked down to prevent the speedster from running, Murray's short stature may prevent him from making the proper reads and throws, which could lead to some interceptions.
3. DeVante Parker scores one touchdown, racks up over 100 yards
Dolphins wideout DeVante Parker only had one catch for three yards in Week 8 against the Rams. Look for Miami and Tagovailoa to get Parker more involved versus the Cardinals since the Dolphins are going to need to get some big chunk plays on offense to win the game.
The Cardinals struggled to stop Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett in Week 7. He recorded 15 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns. While we don't have Parker having a monster game like that, look for the 27-year-old to get into the end zone for the fourth time this season and register his second 100-yard receiving game.
Thus far on the season, Parker has 30 receptions for 367 yards and three touchdowns. He had a good rapport with Ryan Fitzpatrick, but now the Dolphins need Parker to develop chemistry with Tagovailoa, who is the future in Miami.
4. Dolphins defeat Cardinals to improve to 5-3
This game should be a low scoring affair since both teams have solid defenses. With the Dolphins coming off a big win at home over the Rams and the Cardinals potentially being rusty as a result of their bye week, we have Miami defeating Arizona in this one to improve to 5-3 on the season.
It may not always be pretty, but we can see the Dolphins moving the ball downfield pretty well against the Cardinals' defense. Since Miami has the better defense in this matchup, look for the Dolphins to have better starting field position on a regular basis than the Cardinals. That's going to help Tagovailoa get some easy scores to increase his confidence in his second NFL start.
The Dolphins are in second place in the AFC East standings. The Buffalo Bills are in first place with a record of 6-2, but they face the Seahawks in Week 9 and are underdogs in that contest. If the Dolphins can win against the Cardinals and the Bills fall to Seattle, Miami will inch closer to first place in the division.
