FULL BOX SCORE

1. Sloppy play rules. You can’t tell the story of this game without explaining the disaster of the first half. By the end of the first quarter, Calais Campbell deflected one Matthew Stafford pass just enough to direct it into the linebacker’s arms Anthony Walker for an interception. After a Miami field goal and a Rams punt, Tua Tagovailoa returned the favor, throwing an off-balance pass into the arms of Christiaan Rozeboom for an interception. At the next play, Kyren Williams fumbled and gave possession back to the dolphins. Four plays later, Jared Vers sacked Tagovailoa and changed possession again. From then on the turnover festival cooled down, but the mistakes continued. An open Jaylen Waddle dropped a pass on third down. Stafford fumbled, but recovered (he did it again early in the third quarter). Joshua Karty missed a 57-yard field goal. And while it wasn’t the last mistake, a defensive tackle Bobby Brown received a personal foul for a headbutt Liam Eichenberggiving the Dolphins 15 free yards on a drive that ended in a Jason Sanders field goal. There were a lot of mistakes made all night, which made for a bit of ugly viewing, but the Dolphins emerged victorious as they were able to capitalize on their chances more often than the Rams. Let’s hope the next Monday night game isn’t quite as messy.
2. Tagovailoa fights through the night. Miami’s offense has struggled throughout the 2024 season, and this was by no means a pretty game for either offense, but if I had to pick one over the other, it was Miami’s operation for at least one night. The reasoning is simple: the Dolphins got the job done on third down more often than their opponents. The Dolphins finished 6 of 13 on third down, punted on only three of their ten possessions and, most importantly, managed to put points on the board on every drive that ended in Ram territory. The shot itself wasn’t the best – Tagovailoa’s pocket awareness and reaction were shockingly poor, indicating some lingering rust from his extended time off – but he still managed to make enough throws to sustain the drives long enough to earn points to deliver. And Tagovailoa capped off the second most impressive drive of the night with a dart to Tyreek Hill for a grade. Combined with a suddenly suffocating defense, this mix was enough to end Miami’s three-game losing skid and earn a much-needed victory.
3. Miami’s defensive front is peaking. Zach SielerThe club’s return might have flown under the radar for the average football fan, but ball pundits — especially those who love trench play — understood how important it could be for the Dolphins. The Rams did that too. They teamed Sieler 25 times that night – accounting for 58.1% of his 43 pass rushing snaps – and yet he still managed to record two QB pressures and two tackles. What didn’t show up in the stats was how Sieler’s presence and Miami’s creative use of Calais Campbell raised the whole unit. Campbell caused Stafford’s interception and recorded a sack and two pressures while he was a rookie Hak Robinson finished with a team-high five pressures to go along with a sack. The most important statistic of all defined the night before this game: of Miami’s four sacks, three came on third down. After drifting around as a generally average unit for most of the season, the Dolphins brought a new aggression to SoFi Stadium on Monday night, allowing the Rams to not reach a goal-to-go situation until the fourth quarter and fully could get out of the end zone. the night. If they can keep this up, they might have reason to hope they can salvage this season.
4. Rams drop the ball all night long. This isn’t meant entirely literally – although there were some of those too – but Los Angeles will be kidding itself all week when it reviews this tape. The Rams finished 3 for 12 on third down, and two of those conversions came on their final drive, which was little more than a last-ditch effort to make it a one-score game before praying they’d get an onside kick can get back (they didn’t). It was shocking to see a Sean McVay offense struggle so much, especially considering Stafford had both Kuiper Kupp And Puka Nacua at his disposal. Nacua finished with nine catches for 98 yards, and Kupp followed closely with seven catches for 80 yards, but their combined efforts couldn’t push them into the end zone. Stafford threw 46 passes and completed 32 for 293 yards, but will likely think more about those third-down sacks and the many other missed opportunities than he will remember his smaller successes. After winning three straight to dig out of a 1-4 hole, the Rams have yet another problem to solve.
5. Verse is a stud. If Jared Vers wasn’t on your radar when he ended his illustrious career at Florida State, he better be there now. Just look at Monday night’s numbers: four tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a team-high pressure from six quarterbacks (including two quick pressures), good for a 23.1% pressure rate. He’s been a beast since his days with the Seminoles, and he and his former FSU teammate Braden Fiske have both been quality investments by the Rams. He should be a favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year, could make an outside play for the Pro Bowl and soon become a household name. Even with the Rams’ loss, it wasn’t difficult to recognize Verse’s contributions. Get used to seeing more of that.

Dolphins-Rams Next Generation Stats (via NFL Pro): Rookie edge Chop Robinson generated five pressures (tying his season high) and a sack on 30 pass rush snaps (16.7% pressure rate) on Monday night. He registered four of his pressures in 16 games against right tackle Joe Noteboom, who was playing in his first game since Week 1 of this season.

NFL Research: The Dolphins’ defense as a team posted a season-high mark in sacks (four), matched a season-high mark in takeaways (two) and completed their first game without allowing a touchdown this season.