Tua Tagovailoa energized offense in return, but couldn't lead Dolphins to needed win

MIAMI — For a moment, every Miami Dolphins fan, player and coach likely held their collective breaths Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium.

Tua Tagovailoa dropped back to pass, didn’t like what he saw and took off running for a first down.

This time, the decision did not end badly for the Dolphins’ returning starting quarterback.

He slid. He got the first down.

The crowd cheered and then busted out into chants of “Tua! Tua!”

Unfortunately for the Dolphins, that feeling of exuberance didn’t last long.

A strong performance from Tagovailoa in his first start since Sept. 12 after returning from a concussion, which cast doubt on whether he’d ever play football again, wasn’t enough as Miami suffered a deflating 28-27 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Chad Ryland’s 34-yard field goal as time expired dealt the Dolphins their second defeat in a row and fifth in its past six games, dropping them to 2-5 and striking a gut punch to their hopes of battling back into the playoff picture in the AFC.

The Dolphins defense, which played without injured tackle Zach Sieler and lost safety Jevon Holland late in the first half with a knee injury, let a 27-18 lead slip away in the final 12-plus minutes of the game.

The Cardinals (4-4), who amassed 389 total yards of offense, put together a 13-play, 83-yard drive that consumed the final five minutes and one second of the game.

Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray picked up a key first down with 1:02 left in the fourth quarter after the Dolphins had used two of their three timeouts. This allowed the Cardinals to run out all but one second before setting up for the game-winning kick.

The loss overshadowed what was a generally positive return for Tagovailoa, who completed 28-of-38 passes for 234 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 97.9 passer rating after missing Miami’s previous four games.

It helped the Dolphins score a season-best 27 points and the most they had since their opening week, 20-17 win over the Jaguars.

But it wasn’t enough.

Tagovailoa’s lone touchdown pass came two plays before his first down slide before a possible hit by pursuing Cardinals cornerback Starling Thomas V with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Tagovailoa would then connect with De’Von Achane on a screen pass for a 12-yard touchdown pass to put Miami ahead 20-10.

But on Miami’s ensuing drive, an errant snap that Tagovailoa was unable to handle near his end zone resulted in a safety which cut Miami’s lead to 20-12.

The Cardinals put together a nine-play, 75-yard drive on their ensuing series capped by a 22-yard touchdown pass from Kyler Murray to Marvin Harrison Jr., who made a great falling catch in the corner of the end zone while covered by Jalen Ramsey.

The Dolphins defense kept Arizona from tying the game, though, as Jordyn Brooks hit James Conner short of the goal line on the two-point conversion.

Murray completed 26-of-36 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Trey McBride caught nine passes for 124 yards and Harrison Jr. finished with six catches for 111 yards against Miami’s depleted secondary.

The loss also squandered another solid effort on the ground by the Dolphins, who ran for 150 yards collectively, led by Achane’s 97 yards on 10 carries.

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