'They were hyped up, man': After win over Dolphins, are first-place Cardinals for real?

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jonathan Gannon walked to the podium and immediately realized his mistake. After each game, he starts his news conference the same way, with a list of injury updates. On Sunday, he forgot to get that list from a club staffer.

After all, more important things occupied his mind. In the moments after a walk-off, 28-27 win over the Dolphins, Gannon rounded up a screaming group of Cardinals in the locker room and delivered a loud, profanity-laden message. The underlying theme: His pride in a group that has brought its season off the precipice and moved back to .500, at 4-4.

“They lay it on the line, man,” Gannon said. “That's all you can ask.”

At the end of it, the Cardinals had notched two remarkable achievements. They won back-to-back games for the first time in 1,057 days. And, thanks to a Seahawks loss, they moved into first place in the NFC West. Not a bad day.

Here’s what we learned in the win:

This Cardinals season feels different now

For much of this year, the Cardinals seemed locked in an uninspiring holding position. They could pick up some nice wins, but they couldn’t do so consistently. Each step forward was followed by a step back. Sure, they weren’t the 4-13 team of the past two years, but they didn’t look like a playoff contender, either.

After Sunday, it’s possible to take a different perspective. Maybe — just maybe — the Cardinals can take advantage of a weak division and sneak into the playoffs.

It’s not just that they’ve won consecutive games. It’s that they’ve done so against two respectable teams and in two different ways. On Monday, they won with defense. On Sunday, they won with offense, outpacing an explosive Dolphins team.

The path is now open for this team to be more than the mediocre group it has looked like for most of the season.

“I don't think wins carry over,” Gannon said. “But I think confidence does and I think that's what you're starting to see a little bit.”

These Cardinals are clutch

It might take a few years off their fans’ lives, but the Cardinals have shown remarkable resilience in their past three wins.

Against San Francisco, Kyler Murray led a drive to a game-winning field goal with under two minutes left. Against both the Chargers and Dolphins, he led drives to game-winning field goals at the gun.

That requires both an efficient offense and a certain level of mental resolve, two tenets the Cardinals displayed Sunday. To explain how those drives happen, Gannon pointed to a 17-yard James Conner run when the entire team helped shove Conner deep into Dolphins territory.

“We kinda pushed the pile and they were hyped up, man,” Gannon said. “It's fun to watch that because I know that they're connected, they're playing for each other and they're doing everything in their power to win the game.”

Kyler Murray and the passing offense came up big

All season, the Cardinals have been begging for their passing attack to show up. Over their previous five games, they had averaged just 16.0 points, with Murray throwing for a mere 180.6 yards per game.

On Sunday, they needed more than that. The ground game was ineffective and Miami’s talented offense scored 27 points. This game would have to be won by Murray.

And it was. He finished with his most passing yards since his torn ACL, completing 26 of 36 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns. His two best playmakers, Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr., finished with 124 and 111 yards, respectively. This was more like the Cardinals offense expected prior to the season, and it won them the game.

“I understand the game starts in the trenches and I understand you have to be able to run the ball,” Murray said. “But I just feel, when the ball's in my hands and I'm able to get the ball to these guys, the weapons that we have … we’ve gotta get these guys the ball.”

Marvin Harrison’s breakout game (again)

Back in Week 2, it seemed like Harrison broke out with a 130-yard, two-touchdown day against the Rams. That didn’t quite turn to reality. Over his next five games, he averaged just 33.2 yards on 6.4 catches.

Maybe, then, Week 8 can be his true breakout. Harrison did everything that he hadn’t done often enough this year. He looked explosive. He got open. He made contested catches.

Despite his struggles, he’s often been Murray’s trusted target in crucial situations this year. That showed up in a big way Sunday. On each of the Cardinals’ final two drives, Harrison made difficult catches for first downs.

The first was a diving catch to move the sticks on third down. The second came on a second-and-15 play over the middle through traffic. Both times, they helped lead to Arizona points.

“There's no panic to what type of player he is,” Gannon said. “Zero panic. He's here for a reason. He got drafted here for a reason. He's gonna be a big-time player for us and he is a big-time player for us. Kid's lights out.”

Cardinals have been strong on special teams

One of the game-changing moments Sunday came in the third quarter when a bad Dolphins snap went into the end zone and led to safety. Of course, that outcome involved a significant dose of luck for the Cardinals.

But it also happened because their punt unit pinned Miami inside the 15-yard line. And on their previous punt, the Cardinals forced Miami to start a drive at their 5-yard line.

Add that to the work of kicker Chad Ryland and it was another strong day for the Cardinals special teams. In addition to his 34-yard walk-off field goal, Ryland hit a 57-yarder out of halftime.

“He's a prime-time player,” Gannon said. “He does it in practice. We try to rattle him in practice. He's got ice water in his veins right now.”