The Rams took snaps in Miami territory on each of their final seven possessions on Monday night and they reached the red zone three times, but they were never able to find the end zone.
Miami’s defense allowed the Rams to convert just three of their 12 third downs over the course of the night and they came up with four sacks and two turnovers to help create chances for their offense to put up enough points for a 23-15 win.
Veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell was in the middle of the effort. He had one of the sacks and he batted a pass that Anthony Walker intercepted in the first half, which were in keeping with the theme of providing the other side of the ball as many chances as possible.
“The best way to win is to get off the field,” Campbell said in his postgame press conference. “The defense should keep getting the ball back to the offense. They got firepower; we just got to keep feeding them. So third down is money down.”
The win moved the Dolphins to 3-6 and Campbell said “when we’re playing our best ball, we can beat anybody.” Monday’s effort supports that argument and the Dolphins will now have to show they can do it consistently.
The Dolphins were able to stop a three-game losing streak with Monday night’s 23-15 victory over the Rams.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said after the game that he’s hoping it’s the start of a run for Miami.
“I think it’s a testament to the character of this team,” Tagovailoa said of the win. “We’ve come a long way through however many losses in a row — the resilience of this team, the external noise, everyone counting us out. Hopefully, this is an opportunity for us to not waste.
“Hopefully, we can go on a run with this win and find our rhythm toward the back end of the season.”
It wasn’t Miami’s best offensive performance, as the club finished with just 238 yards and two turnovers — a Tagovailoa interception and a Tagovailoa lost fumble. But the offense was able to stay on the field in key situations, finishing the night 6-of-13 on third down.
Tagovailoa, who was playing his third game back after missing four weeks on injured reserve, said the team’s confidence has always been there.
“But to be able to see the product out there, to see what we can do and play complementary football in that sense — when we turn the ball over the defense is able to hold them and minimize the points that they score and vice versa, when the defense gives us opportunities, we’re able to take advantage of that,” Tagovailoa said. “So, I think this is something that we can continue to build on, continue to grow on. We’ll look at all the things we need to fix.
“But for the most part, it’s hard to win in this league and we’re going to enjoy this win.”
After a long flight back to Miami to close Week 10, the Dolphins will host the Raiders in Week 11. They’ll then play the Patriots at home before a Thanksgiving night matchup against the Packers in Green Bay.
Monday night’s matchup between the Dolphins and Rams wasn’t particularly pretty from either side. But Miami was able to keep its dwindling playoff hopes alive with a 23-15 victory over the Rams.
The Dolphins scored two touchdowns, each coming on their first drive of the half. Aside from that, Miami had trouble getting into scoring position, with Jason Sanders hitting field goals of 50 and 37 yards, and the Dolphins gained only 238 yards.
The Rams stru offensively for much of the night, with high snaps, penalties, and poor pass protection derailing their possessions. They started 1-of-10 on third down and 0-of-2 in the red zone.
The two teams combined for four turnovers, three of which came in the second quarter. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw an interception and lost a fumble on a strip-sack, while Matthew Stafford also had an interception and Rams running back Kyren Williams lost a fumble.
Miami went up 17-6 midway through the third quarter when Tyreek Hill caught his first touchdown since Week 1 on a 1-yard pass from Tagovailoa. Tight end Jonnu Smith had set up the score by bouncing off defenders for a 33-yard reception down to the 1-yard line.
After Joshua Karty narrowed the lead to 17-9 with a 53-yard field goal, the Dolphins answered with a 37-yard field goal by Jason Sanders to make it 20-9.
The Rams got down inside the 10, but Stafford’s pass was incomplete to Demarcus Robinson on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Karty’s 22-yard field goal put Los Angeles down by eight points with 6:31 to go.
But it wouldn’t be enough, as Los Angeles’ defense couldn’t get off the field. Tagovailoa found former Ram Odell Beckham Jr. for an 11-yard pass on third-and-6 in Miami territory. From there, the Dolphins were able to drive down to Los Angeles’ 31 and put the game out of reach with a Sanders 50-yard field goal.
While L.A. narrowed Miami’s lead to eight with 39 seconds left, the Rams could not recover the onside kick.
Tagovailoa finished 20-of-28 passing for 207 yards with a touchdown, an interception, and a lost fumble. Jaylen Waddle led with 57 yards on three catches. Hill caught three passes for 16 yards and rushed two times for 11 yards.
Receiver Malik Washington scored his first career touchdown on an 18-yard carry to cap Miami’s opening drive in the first quarter.
On the other side, Stafford finished 32-of-46 for 293 yards with an interception.
Williams rushed for 62 yards on 15 carries. Nacua caught nine passes for 98 yards, while Cooper Kupp added seven receptions for 80 yards.
Dolphins cornerback Kendall Fuller had to exit the game in concussion protocol, and left guard Robert Jones also exited with a knee injury.
With the win, Miami is now 3-6 and will host the 2-7 Raiders next weekend. The 4-5 Rams will head East to play the 3-7 Patriots.
The Dolphins have gotten back into the end zone for the first time since their opening drive.
Tua Tagovailoa tossed a 1-yard touchdown to Tyreek Hill, making the score 17-6, Miami.
After getting the ball on their 47-yard line following a missed field goal, the Dolphins needed only six plays to get to the paint. Tight end Jonnu Smith made the big play, catching a short pass over the middle before bouncing off defenders and staying on his feet all the way down to the 1-yard line.
On the next play, Tagovailoa found Hill for the score. It was Hill’s first touchdown since Week 1.
The Rams should have put three points on the board to open the second half, but a false start before a 52-yard field goal pushed the attempt back 5 yards. Joshua Karty missed wide right from that distance to keep the score at 10-6. Los Angeles had been going down the field with the run game, but a high shotgun snap derailed the possession, putting the offense behind the chains.
Dolphins cornerback Kendall Fuller went down early in the third quarter and is out after being placed in concussion protocol. Cam Smith came in to replace him
Additionally, Dolphins left guard Robert Jones is questionable to return with a knee injury. Lester Cotton replaced him.
It’s been a sloppy first half for both the Dolphins and Rams, but Miami holds a 10-6 lead over Los Angeles at halftime.
The Dolphins scored early on rookie receiver Malik Washington’s 18-yard rushing touchdown to cap the opening drive. Then Jason Sanders hit a 50-yard field goal early in the second quarter to extend the lead to 10-0.
That came off of Matthew Stafford’s first-quarter interception, which came when Calais Campbell got his hand on the ball at the line.
Then there were three turnovers in quick success in the second quarter. First, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tossed an interception to linebacker Christian Rozeboom, with Los Angeles starting its drive at the Miami 43. But on the Rams’ first play, running back Kyren Williams fumbled with Kendall Fuller picking up the loose ball for another turnover.
But the Rams got it back when rookie edge rusher Jared Verse strip-sacked Tagovailoa on third-and-13 and recovered the fumble himself.
That set up Los Angeles at Miami’s 36-yard line with its best chance to score.
The Rams moved the chains with a 14-yard pass to Cooper Kupp, but Matthew Stafford’s third-down pass to Davis Allen was just out of reach. Los Angeles settled for a 34-yard field goal to make the score 10-3 with 5:46 left in the second quarter.
Los Angeles had a chance for a two-minute drive and got going well. But a strip-sack by Quinton Bell derailed the possession, even with Los Angeles recovering the loose ball. On second-and-19 with 19 seconds left, Stafford hit Puka Nacua for a 16-yard gain, spiking it with three seconds on the clock. Joshua Karty’s 55-yard attempt was good, putting Los Angeles down by four at the break.
Tagovailoa finished the first half 9-of-15 for 87 yards with an interception and a lost fumble. Officially he was hit only twice, but Los Angeles’ defensive pressure has been constant.
De’Von Achane has six carries for 23 yards. Jaylen Waddle leads with two catches for 55 yards while Tyreek Hill has one catch for 12 yards and two carries for 11 yards.
Stafford is 15-of-21 for 97 yards with an interception. Williams has six carries for 25 yards. Nacua has four catches for 33 yards. Kupp has three receptions for 24 yards.
The Rams will receive the second-half kickoff with a chance to double up and take the lead.
