Arizona Cardinals hopeful of extending winning streak as Miami Dolphins visit – NFL Preview
Arizona Cardinals can further strengthen their supremacy in National Football Conference (NFC) West as they prepare to host Miami Dolphins for Week 4 game on Sunday, September 30, at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Cards are currently leading the NFC West after winning their first three games, their best start in decades, and now they have a good opportunity to go 4-0 as the struggling Dolphins pay visit to them.
Against all odds, Arizona got off to an impressive start, beating Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
Cardinals offence is led by quarterback Kevin Kolb, who replaced John Skelton in Week 1 game. The defence has perfectly complemented the offence, especially in the last two victories that came against teams with strong offence.
Cardinals will once again rely on their wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald for scoring opportunities, while punt returner Patrick Peterson can also cause problems for Dolphins, who seem ready to tackle Peterson.
Dolphins linebacker Jason Trusnik said of blocking Peterson:
“I think more than anything as a unit it’s about everybody doing their job and not coming down and trying to freelance and not stay in your lane. If we have everybody coming down the field and covering as a unit and keeping him contained in a pocket, that’s the way you get him handled to where he can’t run anywhere.”
Dolphins, unlike Cardinals, did not get a good start to the season. They are 1-2 and placed at the bottom of American Football Conference (AFC) East.
Their pass rush is unproductive while they have struggled overall on offence to generate scoring opportunities.
Their quarterback Ryan Tannehill is still in his early days and he might need some more time to adjust properly into the system before being able to be more productive. However, he has played three games and the scenario is becoming demanding for him every week.
So he must realise that without the due offensive strength, Dolphins stand no chance of outscoring Cardinals, who are brimming with confidence after such an impressive start.
Dolphins have only defeated Oakland Raiders this season, while they were defeated against Houston Texans and New York Jets.
Dolphins running back Reggie Bush, who was injured during Week 3 game against Jets, is expected to play on Sunday and his addition is going to give the team great strength as he is the leading rusher in the league so far.
Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington said of Bush and Dolphins:
“I think they still could be strong at the running game (without Bush) but Reggie’s one of those guys who could do so much, cut back and extend plays and obviously catch the ball out of the backfield.”
Cardinals have slight edge over Dolphins.
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