The Miami Dolphins' season is just around the corner after their devastating loss to the Cardinals

MIAMI GARDENS – This should be a story about a slide, but it's a story about a collapse.

This should be a story about how everyone at Hard Rock Stadium cheered loudly on Sunday when Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa climbed and slipped, jumping up and pointing down first.

But in the end no one cheered.

In the end, the Dolphins collapsed, losing to the Cardinals 28-27 in a must-win game.

The good news is that Tua is back and Miami's offense looked somewhat like it should be.

And, oh yeah, after Tua returned from a concussion that cost him four games, he was uninjured.

He slipped, remember?

The bad news is that Miami's injury-depleted defense found a way to allow Kyler Murray to stage a comeback after the Dolphins led 20-10 in the third quarter.

A short field goal secured the win for Arizona after they had gone an easy 73 yards on their final drive.

And for all the good things that Tua and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane and Miami's offensive line have done, we have to point out that the turnaround started with a safety.

Center Aaron Brewer said he was able to take something away from the snap. Tagovailoa said he should have caught the snap. It went out of his hands and Tua hit it out of the back of the end zone and suddenly it was 20-12, a one-score game.

“I thought we had absolutely every chance to win it,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said, later adding, “We’re getting what we deserve.”

The Dolphins defense, already without Zach Sieler, lost Jevon Holland

The Dolphins played without Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb as well as Zach Sieler and Kader Kohou. Jevon Holland, who already had a hand injury, left this game with a knee injury.

Miami's defense, which had been pretty solid all season, withered towards the end.

Were they tired? Were they outclassed?

It doesn't matter. The bottom line is that they let the team down that day.

“You're running at full speed, thinking about things, and things just happen, and you realize the guy's not out there anymore,” defensive end Calais Campbell said of Holland.

About Sieler and the others, Campbell, who never apologizes but is simply open, said: “Communication and just flow, rhythm and rapport, all of that is important.”

The Dolphins are in big trouble at 2-5 and heading to Buffalo.

At 2-6, a playoff bid could be virtually impossible.

Would general manager Chris Grier develop into a trade deadline seller?

Tua's return should make everything okay. On this day, it couldn't stop the defense from giving in and then collapsing.

“No team is honestly going to give a damn about our problems,” McDaniel said bluntly.

Tua's return seemed to solve Miami's problems on offense.

Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle get a boost from Tua's return to the Dolphins

Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle came to life. And Miami, to McDaniels' credit, hasn't given up on the running game.

But what you felt in that locker room was frustration, anger… and a sense of defeat.

The notes: Miami Dolphins vs. Cardinals report card: Tua returns

This is a locker room full of stars.

It's also an offense that hasn't survived Tua's four-game absence.

And a defense that couldn't survive the absence of some of its top players.

It just couldn't keep up when the team needed it most.

It was supposed to be a story about a slide.

Tua Tagovailoa stayed healthy with slide for the Dolphins

“If he's alert and doesn't try to run over defenders, he can generally stay pretty healthy,” McDaniel said of Tua.

About the celebration after the slide, Tua said: “I thought that was really cool.”

Tua's return – he passed for 234 yards and Miami was 11 of 15 on third down – provides optimism, hope and reason for belief.

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But losing at home to the Cardinals – the cardinals – is absolutely heartbreaking, inexcusable and devastating. It is a damaging dagger.

I asked the ever-hopeful Tua if there was still time for a rescue this season.

“I think it’s always time, brother,” Tua replied.

Let's be honest, everything here is almost gone.

Miami Dolphins lose to Arizona Cardinals on late second FG: How did they blow the lead?

Miami Dolphins' Tyreek Hill on Tua Tagovailoa's return: 'It was a beautiful thing to see'

Joe Schad is a journalist who covers the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Instagram and on X @shadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse newsletter. Support our work by subscribing today.

The Dolphins defense, already without Zach Sieler, lost Jevon Holland

Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle get a boost from Tua's return to the Dolphins

Tua Tagovailoa stayed healthy with slide for the Dolphins

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