After a rainy, sloppy day where there was seven turnover between both the Miami Dolphins and the Arizona Cardinals, the Dolphins were the ones that stood victorious after the game was over.
Miami edged Arizona 26-23 by a game-winning kick by Andrew Franks as time expired. That was Franks first game-winning field goal of his two year career.
The story after the game wasn’t about the Dolphins close victory, but about quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s status.
He left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury after a hit by Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell. He as he was replaced by Matt Moore. Tannehill finished 15 of 20 for 195 yards as he threw three touchdowns and had an interception on the day.
Early reports are Tannehill tore his ACL, but Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said wouldn’t confirm the report, but he said “it doesn’t look good.” Gase said the team would know more on Monday about the status of Tannehill’s injury.
Dolphins Jay Ajayi ran for 47 yards on 20 carries. Jarvis Landry caught four passes for 103 yards on the day. Kenny Stills also had a big day as he had six receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown catch.
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer had a rough day as he was 18 of 33 as he threw for 145 yards, two touchdown passes and two interceptions. Running back David Johnson had another day with over 100 yards from scrimmage as he finished with 80 rushing yards and 41 yards receiving. Miami was able to limit future Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald to three catches for 12 yards.
The first score of the game came with 9:27 left in the first quarter, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills to make it 7-0 after the extra point.
On a reverse, J.J. Nelson ran it back 56-yards for a touchdown. Cardinals missed the extra point, so the score was 7-6 Dolphins.
In the first quarter alone, there were five turnovers between both teams. Arizona lost a fumble and quarterback Carson Palmer threw two interceptions. Miami lost a fumble inside the five-yard line and quarterback
At the end of the first half, the Dolphins led 14-9.
Early in the third quarter, the Tannehill threw a 71-yard pass to receiver Jarvis Landry. That set up a short 3-yard pass to running back Damien Williams that made the score 21-9 with 11:17 left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Arizona narrowed the lead to 21-15 as Palmer threw a touchdown pass to Brittan Golden. On the PAT attempt, Cardinals fumbled the ball as Walt Aikens scooped and returned it for two points for the Dolphins to make it 23-15.
Later in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals scored on a seven play, 50-yard drive that resulted in a Nelson eight-yard touchdown catch. Arizona would get the two-point conversion that tied the game with 3:01 left in regulation.
After a Cardinals punt, with less than two minutes left, Moore drove the Dolphins down the field to the Arizona 1-yard-line after a Kenny Stills 29-yard catch. That set up a 21-yard game-winning field goal by Andrew Franks that won the game.
Next week, Arizona will return to Glendale to host the New Orleans Saints. On a short week, Miami will travel to the Meadowlands to take on the New York Jets next Saturday night.
