The Miami Dolphins feel like one of those whack-a-mole machines you see at the fair or at the arcade.  You take a swing and bop one thing, and another pops up.  Swing and whack that one, and another one sticks its head out.

That machine is effectively the 2024 season for the Miami Dolphins, who now sit at 2-5 after a 28-27 come from ahead loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium. Chad Ryland split the uprights as time expired from 34 yards for the win for Arizona.

In this case, the moles are problems, and those problems continue to pop up just as another one gets resolved.  On Sunday, a suddenly capable offense was weighted down by a defense that had no answer for Cardinals QB Kyler Murry and his top 2 passing targets Marvin Harrison, Jr. and Trey McBride.

Tua Tagovailoa returned to the field, and he looked like the big step forward that he is from the QB mess they’ve had over the last month.  He completed 28/38 attempts for 234 yards and a touchdown.  Not earth-shattering stats, but the efficiency and flow of the offense looked night and day different from while he was gone.  He hit some throws with anticipation, and Tyreek Hill (6 catches, 72 yards) and Jaylen Waddle (4 catches, 45 yards) looked at least close to a shadow of what they’ve looked like in previous years.

It wasn’t perfect. Tua fumbled away a safety in the third quarter that saw the Cardinals flip a switch and get back into the game, and the offense had the chance to close the game out but couldn’t late in the fourth quarter. However, it was still a positive step forward from the last four games.  It should have been good enough to win on Sunday.

However, despite whacking that problem down, a new one popped up – a defense that struggled terribly, particularly against the pass.  McBride hauled in 9 of 11 targets for a game-high 124 yards.  Harrison, who’s been dead silent since the first couple of weeks this year, had 6 for 111 with a touchdown.

When the Cardinals needed to move the sticks, Murray, who escaped pressure nimbly throughout the game, managed to find a way to fit the ball into them, particularly in the second half.  Arizona finished the game with scoring drives of 9 plays, 75 yards (touchdown), 8 plays, 70 yards (touchdown), and 13 plays, 73 yards (field goal).  The Dolphins and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver simply had no answer for Murray and his passing game options.

The Dolphins managed to handle the Cardinals running game decently well for the first three quarters with DL Zach Sieler out with a fractured orbital bone.  The Cardinals only ran for 82 yards on 26 carries.  However, even that group folded some in the fourth quarter, as James Conner bowled his way into the end zone to draw to within 27-25, and later Arizona drove the ball down Miami’s throats to get well inside field goal range on their final drive.

There’s clearly a lot that Weaver and Mike McDaniel have to get figured out on that side of the ball.  It’s another mole that they’re going to have to figure out how to knock back into place.

However, with this team and this year, something else ugly is surely just going to pop right back up.