Dolphins- Cardinals Five Biggest Storylines

Breaking down the Miami Dolphins Week 8 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws the football against the Buffalo Bills during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins will look to move their record at 3-4 when they face the Arizona Cardinals at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

The Dolphins are coming off a 16-10 loss against the Indianapolis Colts, but will have quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back in the lineup for the first time since their Week 2 game against the Buffalo Bills. The Cardinals are 3-4, coming off a 17-15 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.

The teams are meeting for the first time since the 2020 season when the Dolphins won 34-31 in Arizona.

Here are the five biggest storylines for this Week 8 matchup.

TUA TIME

The top storyline in this game could not be more obvious and, in fact, it's among the biggest storylines around the NFL this week. Tua Tagovailoa is back and the hope is his return can jump-start at Dolphins offense that's been bad all season, but particularly the past four games with Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and Tyler Huntley at quarterback.

TYREEK UNLEASHED

Despite being listed as questionable on the final injury report of the week, the expectation heading into the weekend was that Tyreek Hill would be able to play against the Cardinals, and it could be that the return of Tua to the lineup is what he needed to get going. After his 130-yard outing in the season opener against Jacksonville, Hill had 164 yards in the next five games combined. This won't get it done for the offense to get anywhere near the level it reached at its peak last season. Hill was downright giddy when talking about Tua's return this week, and now it's time for him to deliver.

CAN SIELER-LESS DEFENSE CONTAIN CONNER?

The biggest challenge for the Dolphins defense will be stopping the inside running of James Conner, with a dose of Kyler Murray scrambling mixed in. This would be a lot more manageable situation if not for the absence of Zach Sieler because of that freaky injury that reportedly broke an orbital bone. Sieler has been the one constant for the front seven and his absence could be felt. It will be up to longtime Cardinals D-lineman Calais Campbell to play more snaps and the rest of the front seven to make up for Sieler's absence.

WILL DOLPHINS STAY ON THE RUN?

The Dolphins are coming off two games where they ran the ball at least 40 times, something they hadn't done since the second and third games of the 2012 season. With Tua back, it's highly unlikely to happen a third straight game, but the question is how far the number will fall off. The bigger question is how effective the running game can continue to be and how well it can complement what should be a better passing game.

SPECIAL TEAMS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

It has not been a good stretch for the special teams, and the biggest issue last week against the Colts obviously was the missed 54-yard field goal attempt by Jason Sanders in the fourth quarter. It would be nice if the special teams could deliver some game-changing plays in a positive way if they're needed.