Ryan Tannehill’s knee not as serious as 1st feared

Thus far, it’s been an up-and-down year for this unit, but the Dolphins defense has shown a tendency to rise to the occasion when the going gets tough.

Back-up Matt Moore came into the game and preserved the victory after the Cardinals mounted a comeback.

Tannehill was hurt when hit around the legs by defensive tackle Calais Campbell as he released a completion. He did not address the media. Tannehill’s growth in Adam Gase’s first season as head coach, on the heels of him taking a step backward in an inconsistent 2015 campaign, is one of driving forces behind Miami’s playoff push. In 2011, he became Miami’s starting quarterback after Chad Henne dislocated his left shoulder in Week 4. Opening point spreads have the Dolphins (-3) listed as three-point favorites, which means the Jets (+3) will have a field goal to play with against the spread.

“I’m happy for him”, Gase said about his reaction that the injury wasn’t a tear. I’d be shocked to say he did that intentionally. “I know one thing: we’re playing the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, and we obviously have to play better than we did this past week”. “I wish him the best, but it’s hard to see”.

Based on “preliminary findings”, the calf injury to Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers “doesn’t seem as bad as the one from two years ago”, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported. Both teams were four of 13 on third-down conversions and the Dolphins held a slim (30:04 to 29:56) time of possession advantage. Tannehill has thrown for 4000 yards in a season, Moore has 5400 total.

►It was a rough day for Arizona kicker Chandler Catanzaro. He may be preparing for his first start in five seasons, but Moore is still confident he can lead this team to the playoffs and so are his teammates. “In this game, that’s the victor”.

The Jets showed a lot of heart and determination in not giving up after going down by two touchdowns less than five minutes into their Week 14 game. If the Chargers remain in the cellar, McCoy will attempt to be the first Chargers coach retained after consecutive last-place finishes since Tommy Prothro in 1977. The Dolphins’ following games will be at the Buffalo Bills and at home in the regular-season finale against the New England Patriots. It wasn’t a dirty play considering the circumstances, but it was a hit that unfortunately resulted in an injury.

“We don’t have it officially yet, but it doesn’t look good”, Gase said. “You try and eliminate them from the game, it’s never on goal”.

Mike Graham is a multi-media sports editor for TCPalm.com/Treasure Coast Newspapers and the USA TODAY Network.