Miami Dolphins mistakes spoil QB Tua Tagovailoa's return

The Miami Dolphins made too many mistakes in Tua Tagovailoa's return. The errors also overshadowed another solid game from De'Von Achane, who rushed for 97 yards on 10 carries. He also caught six passes for 50 yards and a touchdown.

The Dolphins lost to the Arizona Cardinals 28:27 on a walk-off field goal by Cardinals placekicker Chad Ryland. They have now lost five of their last six games.

The biggest mistake was an errant snap from center Aaron Brewer to Tagovailoa deep down the field in the third quarter. The ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety after Tagovailoa hit it back just inside the goal line.

The safety cut the Dolphins' lead to 20-12 and the Cardinals used the ensuing possession for a touchdown to make the score 20-18 after the two-point conversion failed.

It was the second bad center exchange between Brewer and Tagovailoa of the game.

Tagovailoa parried a snap in the first quarter but fell on the ball to give the Dolphins possession.

After the game, Tagovailoa said he should have caught the ball with the shotgun snap, regardless of placement.

After the free kick, the Cardinals then gained possession of the ball. They drove down the field and scored a touchdown when Kyler Murray's 22-yard pass found rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. in the end zone. The two-point conversion failed and Miami maintained its lead of 20-18.

Miami would come back and score again to extend their lead to 27-18 on a six-yard run by Raheem Mostert.

However, the offense failed to seal the deal in the fourth quarter when it suffered a drive stall at the Arizona 47-yard line with 5:01 to play. Miami gained 23 yards in eight plays. They had two first downs on the drive but got nowhere before having to punt.

“I think if you asked both of them, Brew(er) would say he should have let off a little steam. Tua thought he should have caught it,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said after the game. “The bottom line is we can’t have problems like this, you can’t just give people free points.”

“You can't expect to win a close game, that's what ultimately made the difference in the points we learned if you want them to change.

Tagovailoa said he wants to move forward. He said he looks forward to the team improving in the future.

“It was a tough loss,” Tagovailoa said. “We have to keep chopping wood. We need to look from within and encourage each other. It’s going to take everyone to get where we want to go.”

Miami's pass defense, a strength of the team early in the game, couldn't stop Harrison, who had six catches for 111 yards and the score. Miami also couldn't stop the tight end position as Trey McBride led the team with nine receptions for 124 yards.

The Dolphins led the NFL in pass defense and had only allowed one quarterback (Geno Smith) more than 162 passing yards all season.

“I thought the guys were capable of making plays, but they didn’t,” McDaniel said. “We’ll go back and look at the tape, me and Weave (Anthony Weaver, defensive coordinator) and see where we can improve.”

Whenever the Cardinals needed to make a play, a pass to Harrison or McBride saved them.

The Dolphins defense failed to record a sack or a turnover. Despite considerable pressure, the Dolphins were unable to get Murray on the floor all afternoon.

The loss dropped Miami to 2-5 on the season. Next week they travel to Buffalo for a game against the AFC East-leading Bills.