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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The Miami Dolphins, fighting for their playoff lives, blew a 12-point lead, lost their quarterback and had to deal with heavy rain. But despite all that adversity, backup quarterback Matt Moore drove Miami down the field, setting up Andrew Franks for a 21-yard field goal on the game's final play.
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Franks made the kick, and the Dolphins beat the Arizona Cardinals 26-23 on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has yet to miss a game since the Dolphins drafted him in the first round in 2012, injured his knee with 1:46 left in the third quarter.
The Dolphins said they will make an announcement as to the severity of the injury on Monday, but reports indicate Tannehill is done for the season due to a torn ACL.
"Hopefully it's not terrible," Moore said of Tannehill's injury. "I wish him the best."
Moore, who hasn't started a game since 2011, said he is sure there will be rust.
"I haven't done this in a while," Moore said when asked what he was thinking when he went in for Tannehill. "The weather was not great. But I went in confident -- close game, I wanted to finish strong and get the win."
Moore made sure that happened, completing a 29-yard pass to Kenny Stills on the final drive. That set Miami up at the Arizona one-yard line with 37 seconds left.
On Miami's final play from scrimmage, running back Damien Williams scrambled around and hit the turf just in time. Miami called timeout with one second left, allowing Franks his opportunity to win the game.
"I thought it was very questionable whether that second was on the clock," Arizona coach Bruce Arians said. "Thank God teams do not run the clock. The NFL does or we would truly have a (expletive) storm."
The Dolphins (8-5) kept their playoff hopes alive by winning their seventh game out of the past eight. They are tied with the 8-5 Denver Broncos for the second and final AFC wild-card spot.
Arizona (5-7-1) lost two fumbles, threw two interceptions and had three failed kicks by Chandler Catanzaro.
Arizona running back David Johnson went over 100 yards from scrimmage for the 13th consecutive game this season, tying an NFL record set in 2005 by Edgerrin James. Johnson ran for 80 yards and caught five passes for 41 yards.
Miami led 7-6 after a nutty, five-turnover first quarter.
The Dolphins scored first as Tannehill hit Stills on a 28-yard post pattern. That capped a 52-yard drive set up by Ken Hull catching a deflection for his first career interception. Hull, an undrafted second-year player from Penn State, made his first NFL start.
On the ensuing drive, Arizona scored on a 56-yard end around by wide receiver J.J. Nelson, who made a decisive cut and was not touched. It was the first rushing touchdown of his two-year career and his longest play from scrimmage this season.
"I've been running ever since I was little," said Nelson, who is from Midfield, Alabama. "I knew I was gone as soon as I made that cut."
Nelson's run gave Arizona some momentum. However, Catanzaro missed the extra point.
Tannehill threw a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dion Sims with 11:41 left in the second quarter, putting the Dolphins up 14-6.
The Cardinals closed their deficit to 14-9 on a 56-yard field by Catanzaro with just 1:18 left before halftime. Catanzaro had missed a 41-yard field that hit the right post earlier in the half.
Miami opened the third quarter with a three-yard touchdown pass from Tannehill to Williams. The drive was set up by wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who broke a tackle on a short pattern and ended up with a 71-yard play.
The Cardinals closed their deficit to 21-15 on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Carson Palmer to Brittan Golden. But Catanzaro's extra-point try was blocked by Jordan Phillips and returned for a Dolphins two-pointer by Walt Aiken.
That gave Miami a 23-15 lead.
Arizona came right back, scoring on an eight-yard pass from Palmer to Nelson with 3:01 left in the fourth quarter. Palmer completed a pass to Johnson for the two-point conversion, tying the score 23-23.
That led to Miami's final drive, which went 44 yards on six plays for the Franks field goal.
Arians said he was proud of his team, which was down to it last offensive lineman.
"We played a heck of a fourth quarter. But the poor snap on the extra point got them two points," Arians said. "The ball hits the upright (on the 41-yard field goal). That's five big points.
"In this game, that's the winner."
NOTES:
This was the Cardinals' first South Florida visit since 2004.
Star FS Tyrann Mathieu, considered the emotional leader of the Cardinals, missed his fourth game in five weeks due to a shoulder injury that may now require surgery.
During Sunday's game, Cardinals SS Tyvon Branch (groin) was pulled and did not return.
The Cardinals have two former Miami Hurricanes on their roster: starting DT Calais Campbell and backup DL Olsen Pierre, who was inactive on Sunday.
Cardinals starting CB Patrick Peterson is local, from Deerfield Beach.
The Dolphins' inactive list included five injured starters: LB Kiko Alonso (hamstring, broken right thumb); C Mike Pouncey (hip); CB Xavien Howard (knee), LB Jelani Jenkins (knee, hand) and DE Mario Williams (ankle).
This was the first game Alonso has missed this season.
The Dolphins activated DE Jason Jones after a two-week suspension that stemmed from an offseason arrest and DUI charge.
