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Dolphins host desperate Cardinals on Sunday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 12/8/2016  at  5:13:00 PM
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ARIZONA CARDINALS (5-6-1)
at MIAMI DOLPHINS (7-5)

Hard Rock Stadium – Miami, FL
Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Line: Miami -1.0, Total: 43.5

The Cardinals will be looking to keep their slim playoff hopes alive with a win over the Dolphins on Sunday.

Arizona has had a disappointing season, but the team is coming off of an impressive 31-23 win as a 2.5-point home favorite against Washington last week. The Cardinals finally played as if their backs were against the wall, and they will need to continue to do that moving forward. They’re facing a Dolphins team that just lost 38-6 as three-point road underdogs in Baltimore. The Dolphins had been hot heading into that one, but they looked disastrous in that loss to the Ravens. It’s fair to wonder whether or not this team is heading towards a late season meltdown. Some trends in this game seriously favor the Cardinals getting the job done. Arizona is 6-0 ATS in road games in December with Bruce Arians as head coach, and the team is also 11-2 ATS after allowing six or more yards per play in its previous game under Arians as well. It’s also worth noting that the Cardinals are facing a Dolphins team that is 0-6 ATS in home games when playing a team with a losing record in the second half of the year over the past three seasons. Fortunately for Miami, the Cardinals are a miserable 2-10 ATS when playing teams with a winning record over the past two seasons.

The Cardinals have not played to their potential this year, but they looked great last week. If this team can get it together and find a way to win out then it just might sneak into the postseason. If Arizona is going to put together a winning streak then it will need more of the QB Carson Palmer (3,231 yards, 18 TD, 11 INT) that showed up last week. Palmer was flawless against Washington, throwing for 300 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. If he can stay mistake-free then Arizona should find a way to win this one. RB David Johnson (1,005 yards, 11 TD) will be the guy that really carries the load for the Cardinals though. Johnson has been an animal recently, as he has totaled seven touchdowns over the past three games. He also happens to have 24 receptions for 251 yards over the past three games, which is ridiculous for a running back. Look for Johnson to play a big role out of the backfield in this one as well. Defensively, the Cardinals need to shut down the Miami running game. That will force Ryan Tannehill to need to throw a lot, and that is exactly what the Cardinals need to win this game.

After rushing for over 100 yards in three straight games from Oct. 16 to Nov. 6, RB Jay Ajayi (908 yards, 7 TD) has failed to rush for 80 yards in four straight games. The last two outings have been miserable for him, as he has rushed for a total of just 106 yards on 30 carries. Miami needs to get the running game going again or this team will struggle down the stretch. QB Ryan Tannehill (2,800 yards, 16 TD, 11 INT) must also find a way to rebound from last week’s miserable performance. Tannehill threw for only one touchdown with a three picks against Baltimore, and he can’t afford to turn the ball over like that moving forward. The silver lining in that game came in the form of WR Jarvis Landry’s (75 rec, 820 yards, 2 TD) performance. Landry had 11 receptions for 87 yards in that game, and that was his first double-digit reception game since Sep. 18. Defensively, it’s important that the Dolphins know where David Johnson is at all times. He can beat them in a number of ways and the Dolphins can’t afford to let him be the reason they lose this one.


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