Alabama Players in the NFL Tracker Week 9: Tua Tagovailoa Stars Leading 34-31 Win

Former Alabama running backs are leading a strong season for their position group, with three notching 100-yard games last week

Author:
Kristi Patrick
Publish date:
Nov 8, 2020 9:58 PM EST

From AllDolphins:

"Tua Tagovailoa put on a show in his second NFL start and propelled the Miami Dolphins to their biggest win of the season.

"Tagovailoa passed for 248 yards and two touchdowns and Jason Sanders made a 50-yard field goal with 3:30 left in the Dolphins' 34-31 victory against the Arizona Cardinals in a thriller at State Farm Stadium.

"Tagovailoa out-dueled Kyler Murray in a shootout between the winner and runner-up for the 2018 Heisman Trophy."

Check out the game story, plus the Sports Illustrated story by Conor Orr: Tua Tagovailoa Vs. Kyler Murray Was a Show Befitting a Possible New Golden Age of QBs

"As several decorated legends find their careers winding down, the pipeline of young QB talent is only growing. Sunday's Dolphins–Cardinals shootout put two more on the stage, who showed us they totally belong."

Kenyan Drake, Dre Kirkpatrick out for Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals will be without two of their former Crimson Tide players as both running back Kenyan Drake and cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick have been ruled out for Sunday's game against Miami.

Drake is coming off an ankle injury suffered two weeks ago against the Seahawks, and ended up riding a cart to the locker room. Team officials later said the severity of his injury wasn't as bad as it initially looked.

On Friday, head coach Kliff Kingsbury called Kirkpatrick’s status doubtful for the Dolphins, but the team injury report later listed him as out due to a thigh injury.

Miami's quarterback, of course, is Tua Tagovailoa.

Week 9 Preview

Year of the running back?

Considering all the passing and scoring going on in the NFL it seems a little far-fetched, until one looks at some of the rushing numbers this season.

NFL teams have combined for 245 rushing touchdowns, the most through eight weeks in league history.

The San Francisco 49ers (14) and Arizona Cardinals (12) lead the league in the category, followed by the Los Angeles Rams (11) and Minnesota Vikings (11). The NFL’s single-season record is 487 rushing touchdowns in 1979.

Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook (10) leads the league in rushing touchdowns, followed by the Falcons’ Todd Gurley (8) and the Titans’ Derrick Henry (8).

Cook’s 10 rushing touchdowns in his first six games this season are tied for the fourth-most by a player in his first six games of a season in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers Jim Brown (14 in 1958) and Emmitt Smith (11 in 1995) as well as Shaun Alexander (12 in 2005) had more.

Additionally, NFL games are averaging 238.4 rushing yards through eight weeks this season. That’s the highest mark in 32 years, since NFL teams averaged 240.3 rushing yards per game through eight weeks in 1988.

Among players who have appeared in at least four games this season, Henry leads the NFL with 110.7 rushing yards per game, followed by Cook (108.7).

Former Alabama players are at the forefront of the position, with three 100-yard performances last week.

Also of note, rushing numbers have a tendency to go up as the temperature drops.

Matchup of the Week

The 2018 Heisman Trophy race came down to Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa, and was followed by a showdown between Oklahoma and Alabama in the Orange Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff.

Tagovailoa was 24-for 27 for 318 yards and four touchdowns to help lead a 45-34 victory, while Murray was 17-for-37 passes for 308 yards with two passing touchdowns and another rushing. Neither player had a turnover.

On Sunday they'll have a rematch as the Miami Dolphins visit the Arizona Cardinals.

Tagovailoa won his first career start last week. Arizona is coming off a bye, but during the previous weekend Murray became the first player in NFL history with at least 350 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, 50 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in a single game.

Similar to the Alabama-Oklahoma, Murray appears to be facing a tougher defense in the matchup. The Dolphins are allowing 18.6 points per game, the fewest in the NFL this season. With 13 takeaways, Miami has 1.9 per game, tied for second in the NFL behind Seattle (2.0).

NFL Schedule Week 9

Thursday's game

Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers, 7:20 p.m. on Fox/NFL Network

Sunday's games

New York Giants at The Washington Football Team, noon on Fox

Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans, noon on Fox

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings, noon on CBS

Carolina Panthers at Kansas City Chiefs, noon on Fox

Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars, noon on CBS

Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts, noon on CBS

Seattle Seahawks at Buffalo Bills, noon on Fox

Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons, noon on CBS

Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers, 3:05 p.m. on Fox

Pittsburgh Steelers at Dallas Cowboys, 3:25 p.m. on CBS

Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals, 3:25 p.m. on CBS

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7:20 p.m. on NBC

Monday's game

New England Patriots at New York Jets, 7:15 p.m. on ESPN

NFL Week 9 Notes

• One of the more interesting comments last week was by Julio Jones after being asked if he was best wide receiver in the league. "Absolutely I think I’m the best, no doubt about it” Jones said. “I was injured earlier on in the season, but you’ll see, just keep watching.” With his 137 yards against the Panthers, Jones joined Randy Moss at 35 career games with 125-plus yards receiving. Over his last three games, Jones has 371 total yards receiving.

• Another interesting matchup to watch among former Crimson Tide players will be with the Bears at the Titans. Henry is aiming for his sixth straight game with a rushing touchdown. He leads the the NFL with 775 rushing yards this season. Look for a few collisions with safety Eddie Jackson, who is the only player in the league with 10-plus interceptions, and least six forced fumbles and recoveries since 2017.

• Running back Damien Harris has been a bright spot for the Patriots. Coming off 102 rushing yards and his first career touchdown last week, he's aiming for this third straight game with 70-plus scrimmage yards. Trying to stop him with the Jets, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.

• Josh Jacobs of the Raiders is coming off a powerful 128-yard performance in lousy weather in Cleveland. He has 502 scrimmage yards this season (100.4 per game) and is one of two running backs in the AFC with at least 500 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. We already mentioned the other, Henry.