Why the Dolphins Will Defeat the Cardinals, Why They Will Lose, And What's Actually Going to Happen

The Miami Dolphins have a chance to really stamp themselves as legitimate playoff contenders when they face the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on Sunday.

The Dolphins and Cardinals both are riding three game-winning streaks, with Miami coming off a 28-17 victory against the L.A. Rams and Arizona back from its bye following a 37-34 overtime victory against the Seattle Seahawks.

Here are different ways this game could play out:

The Dolphins will win because ...

-- After a lackluster NFL starting debut, Tua Tagovailoa puts on a show like he did so often at the University of Alabama. After throwing one touchdown pass against the Rams, Tua ups that number to three against Arizona.

-- Running back Jordan Howard comes back from the inactive list and makes a difference with a couple of rushing touchdowns.

-- The Dolphins use the Wildcat formation on more snaps than against the Rams and it produces great results.

-- The Dolphins defense continues its strong run and keeps Kyler Murray from inflicting a lot of damage on the ground.

-- Cornerback Xavien Howard will make up for his dropped interception against the Rams by picking off Murray once, maybe even twice.

-- The Dolphins run defense will take advantage of the absence of former Miami running back Kenyan Drake and make the Arizona offense one-dimensional.

-- Howard and fellow cornerback Byron Jones will make star Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

-- The Dolphins will win the special teams battle again, though we're not guaranteeing another Jakeem Grant punt return for a touchdown.

The Dolphins will lose because ...

-- Tua will have a second consecutive rough outing.

-- Tua will play much better, but won't be able to overcome the lack of a running game with Myles Gaskin and Matt Breida both missing.

-- DeVante Parker won't be able to make an impact because star Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson will shut him down.

-- Arizona first-round pick Isaiah Simmons will build off his overtime interception against Seattle and make another game-changing play.

-- The Dolphins pass rush will be neutralized by the mobility of quarterback Kyler Murray, who will escape blitzers on a few occasions and rack up big rushing yardage numbers.

-- Hopkins will make plays against the Dolphins cornerbacks despite tight coverage.

What actually will happen ...

We're 6-1 in picking Dolphins games this season after correctly predicting the victory against the Rams (though we certainly didn't expect it to materialize the way it did).

This one looks like a really tough matchup for the Dolphins against a very good Arizona team. If that last fact wasn't already clear, all doubt should have disappeared with its Sunday night overtime victory against the Seattle Seahawks — despite the crazy play by DK Metcalf that launched countless social media GIFs.

In fact, I selected the Cardinals to win the NFC West in the SI team publisher season predictions.

Quarterback Kyler Murray is a problematic quarterback for opponents to defend because of his combination of running and passing ability, which might be on par this season with that of 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson.

He will present a different kind of test for the Dolphins defense, which has been playing lights out the past few games but now has a chance to stamp itself as belonging as an elite unit.

Murray's ability to scramble and avoid pressure will make it difficult for the Dolphins pass rush to impact the game the way it did against the Rams and the much less mobile Jared Goff.

The Dolphins defensive backs also will face a much tougher assignment against star wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald.

The Arizona defense has been inconsistent this season, particularly after the loss of star linebacker Chandler Jones, but it has the potential to really come on after the recent trade for linebacker Markus Golden, who had signed as a free agent with the New York Giants after getting 10 sacks for the Cardinals last season. Then there's first-round pick Isaiah Simmons, the multi-talented defensive player who Arizona has brought along slowly but who had that huge overtime pick against Seattle.

Given the issues with the Dolphins running game in the first seven games, it's unrealistic to expect a breakthrough against Arizona with starter Myles Gaskin and top backup Matt Breida both out, and that would put more pressure on the passing game.

While the expectation is for Tua to have a better showing than he did in his first start against the Rams, it also might be too much to expect him to be able to carry the Dolphins to a big offensive day against Arizona.

This would be a huge victory if the Dolphins can pull it off, but with a talented Arizona team coming off a bye, it just might not be in the cards.

Cardinals, 27, Dolphins 17

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