Tua Tagovailoa finished as runner-up to Kyler Murray for the 2018 Heisman Trophy, but Miami’s rookie quarterback came out on top in their first scintillating meeting in the NFL.
Tagovailoa outlasted his Cardinals counterpart to post his second win in as many starts since taking over the starting job from Ryan Fitzpatrick, leading the rising Dolphins to a wild 34-31 victory Sunday in Arizona.
The former Alabama star finished 20-for-28 for 248 yards with two scoring throws, and Jason Sanders nailed a tiebreaking 50-yard field goal with 3:30 remaining as surging Miami (5-3) won its fourth straight game overall to move firmly into the playoff hunt in the AFC.
“That was awesome. It was fun for the fans as well, not just us competing,” Tagovailoa said of facing Murray, the No. 1-overall pick out of Oklahoma in 2019. “You know what you’re going to get when it comes to Kyler. You know the kind of explosive player he is. He might be the fastest player in the NFL right now. Oh my gosh, he’s faster than me.”
Murray finished with 283 passing yards and 106 on the ground, accounting for four touchdowns (three passing). But Cards kicker Zane Gonzalez left a 49-yard field goal attempt short with 1:58 to go, squandering a chance for Arizona (5-3) to move into a tie with Seattle atop the NFC West.
“Me personally I wasn’t really worried about first place in the division. I don’t think anybody should be worried about that s–t,” Murray said. “We came out here and laid an egg. I don’t know, we’ve just got to be better.”