Dolphins Look To Get Back On Track Against Visiting Cardinals
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – The Miami Dolphins are going to have their hands full with one of the NFL's best up-and-coming offensive playmakers.
Arizona Cardinals second-year running back David Johnson has shredded the NFL in the first 12 games of the season and will look to exploit a struggling Dolphins' rush defense on Sunday when the teams meet in South Florida.
Johnson leads the league in touchdowns (15) and scrimmage yards (1,709) with an NFL third-best 1,005 coming on the ground heading into a tilt with the 30th-ranked rush defense (130.3 yards per game).
Should Johnson find the end zone on Sunday, he'll join Hall of Famer Gale Sayers as the only players in league history with 20 or more rushing touchdowns, five or more receiving scores and a kickoff return touchdown in their first two seasons.
Johnson earned his second NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors this season after rolling up 175 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in Arizona's 31-23 win over Washington on Sunday.
While Arizona is keeping a faint pulse for a playoff berth, Miami's six-game winning streak elevated it to the sixth and final postseason spot in the AFC before a 38-6 shellacking at the hands of Baltimore on Sunday.
Ryan Tannehill was intercepted a career high-tying three times versus the Ravens after being picked off just once during the previous six games.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Dolphins -1. O/U: 43.5
ABOUT THE CARDINALS (5-6-1): Arizona is making its first trek to play a regular-season game in Miami since 2004. How long ago was that?
Well, veteran wideout Larry Fitzgerald began his active streak (191) of catching at least one pass in that contest, which he capped with a touchdown reception with 19 seconds remaining to push the Cardinals to a 24-23 victory.
Fitzgerald (NFL high-tying 88 catches) is a trusted target of veteran Carson Palmer, who recorded his 48th career 300-yard performance last week and 21st as a member of Arizona to reside one shy of Kurt Warner's franchise record.
ABOUT THE DOLPHINS (7-5): Jay Ajayi announced his presence by eclipsing the 200-yard plateau in back-to-back outings and adding a 111-yard performance coming out of the team's bye before being held under 80 yards in each of his last four games.
The second-year back could continue to struggle to amass yards versus Arizona, which boasts the second-ranked total defense (297.3).
Jarvis Landry erupted for 11 catches last week while Miami tried in vain to rally versus Baltimore, but should be shadowed by Patrick Peterson.
Linebacker Kiko Alonso (team-leading 97 tackles) missed practice on Thursday due to thumb and hamstring injuries and is unsure if he'll play on Sunday.
EXTRA POINTS
- Johnson would tie Edgerrin James (2005) with 13 straight 100 scrimmage yard games to begin a season should the former reach triple digits on Sunday.
- Miami DE Cameron Wake, who leads the team with 8.5 sacks, recorded a franchise-best 4.5 in his last meeting with Arizona.
- The Cardinals are just 1-4 on the road this season after winning seven of eight away from home last season.
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