3 Takeaways from Dolphins' Week 9 Win

This time last season, the Miami Dolphins looked like one of the worst teams in football. They appeared to be tanking for the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, and a lengthy rebuilding process seemed likely. A year later, Miami sits at 5-3 and has a legitimate shot at making the postseason.

Miami picked up its fifth win of the season Sunday, outlasting the Arizona Cardinals in a 34-31 thriller. The Dolphins have now won four straight and have beaten quality opponents in back-to-back weeks. With winnable games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and New York Jets coming up, it's not unrealistic to believe Miami could hit eight wins before December.

The idea of a long-term rebuild can be thrown out the window, as Miami has the look and feel of a playoff team. That's the biggest takeaway after Week 9, but here are three other things we learned about the Dolphins on Sunday.

The Dolphins Have Found Their Head Coach

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It's impossible to know precisely what the future has in store for the Dolphins. Know this, though: Head coach Brian Flores is probably going to be around for a long time. Miami appears to have found its man in the former New England Patriots assistant, as Flores has quickly turned the NFL's laughingstock into one of the its hardest-playing squads.

"Flores is in possession of a team that plays hard for four quarters, emptying their tank no matter what the distraction, obstacle or adversity they face," Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wrote.

The Dolphins have bested playoff-caliber teams in the Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams in back-to-back weeks. They have done so with a rookie quarterback, a patchwork backfield and a relative lack of household names.

Dating back to Week 9 of 2019, Miami has gone 10-7. While the team did add quality veterans like Byron Jones, Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah in the offseason, the reasons for the Dolphins' resurgence can largely be placed at the feet of Flores.

Tua Tagovailoa Is at Least Close to 100 Percent

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While the Dolphins have found their head coach, they may have also found their quarterback in rookie Tua Tagovailoa. It's not fair to anoint the Alabama product after just two starts, but at no point did Tagovailoa appeared overwhelmed against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals.

Tagovailoa passed for 248 yards and two scores, rushed for 35 yards and went blow for blow with the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Most importantly, though, Tagovailoa appeared healthy.

The former Crimson Tide star suffered a fractured and dislocated hip roughly a year ago. There were legitimate concerns about whether Tagovailoa could or should play as a rookie, but it seems he has made a full recovery.

Tagovailoa didn't look great in his first start in Week 8, but the Dolphins pulled out the win. He looked fantastic against Arizona, though, flashing the mobility, accuracy and big-play ability he showed at Alabama before the injury.

While the rookie is still likely to have his fair share of ups and downs, there should be no concerns about his health moving forward.

Miami Can Still Challenge for the AFC East Title

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Making the switch to Tagovailoa from Ryan Fitzpatrick was largely about the future. Miami needs to find out what it has in the rookie. However, the Dolphins are proving that they can win with the first-year quarterback, and that's big because the AFC East crown is still within reach.

The Buffalo Bills hold the division lead at 7-2. However, Miami is just a game-and-a-half back and will finish the year in Buffalo. The Rams and Cardinals represent two of the toughest opponents Miami is going to face this season, and the Dolphins can make up ground over the next seven weeks.

After the Chargers, Broncos and Jets, Miami will face the Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders before the rematch with Buffalo. The Chiefs game can probably be penciled in as a loss, but a 5-2 or 6-1 record during that stretch is possible. Miami has proved that it is a complete team with a brilliant coach and a dynamic quarterback. At the very least, it will have a shot in virtually every game.

While putting themselves into a position to win the division won't be easy for the Dolphins, it's not impossible. This is a situation fans probably didn't dare dream about only a year ago.