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.
The Dolphins brought out a little trickery early on in their Monday night matchup with the Rams, scoring a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.
On Miami’s first play in the red zone, the club faked a handoff and then gave the ball to rookie receiver Malik Washington for an 18-yard score.
The Dolphins started with a 19-yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle. But Byron Young tackled De’Von Achane for a 5-yard loss on a swing pass on the next play, putting Miami behind the chains.
But on third-and-13, Tagovailoa evaded the rush in the pocket and found a wide-open Jaylen Waddle down the left side for a 36-yard gain down to Los Angeles’ 18-yard line.
The next play, Washington took the end around for a touchdown, giving Miami an early lead.
It was the first touchdown of Washington’s young career on just his fifth NFL touch.
John Robinson, former head coach of the Rams and a legendary head coach at USC, has died. He was 89.
After coaching the Trojans from 1976 through 1982, Robinson moved to the NFL. He led the Rams from 1983 to 1991. He left as the winningest coach in franchise history, a mark surpassed earlier this year by Sean McVay.
Robinson took the Rams to the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons, winning four postseason games.
Robinson returned to USC in 1993, where he remained until 1997. He then coached UNLV from 1999 through 2004.
At USC, Robinson went 104-35-4. He led the Trojans to eight bowl games and won four Rose Bowls.
We extend our condolences to Robinson’s family, friends, players, and colleagues.
The Dolphins will have star receiver Tyreek Hill when they play the Rams tonight.
Hill is officially active after he was questionable for the Week 10 contest with a wrist injury.
Lisa Salters of ESPN reported on Monday that Hill underwent an MRI that showed a torn ligament in his wrist. Hill noted that he was dealing with a wrist issue during training camp that was aggravated during his detainment by police before Miami’s season opener on Sept. 8.
However, Hill was just added to the injury report with a wrist issue on Friday. He did not practice on Friday or Saturday.
In eight games this season, Hill has 34 receptions for 446 yards with one touchdown. He’s also taken five carries for 36 yards.
Safety Jevon Holland (hand/knee) is also active for Miami after he was listed as questionable for the contest. He missed last week’s loss to the Bills and was a limited participant on Friday and Saturday.
The Dolphins’ inactives are running back Jeff Wilson, cornerback Ethan Bonner, fullback Alec Ingold, cornerback Storm Duck, linebacker Mohamed Kamara, offensive lineman Andrew Meyer, and receiver Dee Eskridge.
For the Rams, offensive linemen Jonah Jackson and Steve Avila are active after they were activated to the 53-man roster off of injured reserve earlier on Monday. Jackson has been out since Week 2 and Avila since Week 1.
Los Angeles’ inactives are quarterback Stetson Bennett, running back Cody Schrader, offensive lineman Dylan McMahon, offensive lineman Rob Havenstein, defensive lineman Neville Gallimore, and defensive lineman Desjuan Johnson.
The Dolphins made a number of roster moves ahead of Monday night’s game against the Rams.
They announced that they have activated wide receiver River Cracraft off of injured reserve, signed defensive tackle Neil Farrell off of their practice squad and elevated long snapper Tucker Addington and tackle Jackson Carman from the practice squad on a temporary basis. Tackle Austin Jackson went on injured reserve in a corresponding move.
Cracraft has missed the entire regular season with a shoulder injury. He had nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown for the Dolphins last season.
Jackson started eight games at right tackle, but will miss at least the next four with a knee injury.
Farrell has appeared in two games this season and he recorded one tackle. Addington and Carman will be making theirs first appearances for the Dolphins on Monday night.
The Rams are getting a couple of starting offensive linemen back in time for Monday night’s game against the Dolphins.
Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson have both been activated from injured reserve. Avila started the season opener at left guard, but hurt his knee in the loss to the Lions. Jackson opened the season at center and went down with a shoulder injury in Week Two.
Sixth-round pick Beaux Limmer has been starting at center while undrafted rookie Justin Dedich has started the last three games at left guard.
The Rams waived offensive lineman Logan Bruss in a corresponding move and they also announced that they have elevated defensive lineman Jonah Williams from the practice squad.
Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. hasn’t done much this season in Miami, with only three catches for 15 yards. His next opportunity comes on Monday night, in his first game at against the Rams at SoFi Stadium since he suffered a torn ACL (or, more accurately, when he knee with a pre-torn ACL finally gave way) during Super Bowl LVI.
With Tyreek Hill questionable due to a wrist injury, Beckham might get more than the total playing time of 17 percent through four games (45 total snaps) in 2024.
And he might get a chance to duplicate the four-catch, 97-yard, one-touchdown showing he had against the Rams last year, when facing the Rams as a member of the Ravens.
On Saturday, Rams coach Sean McVay said all the right things about Beckham, based on his short stint with the Rams.
“He is such a special player and such a talent,” McVay told reporters. “I think the thing I respect as much as anything is what an impressive human he is and the things that he’s been able to overcome, whether it be some of the injury setbacks. You talk about a gifted, talented receiver, really smart and cerebral who can do so many different things. He was instrumental in us being able to do the things that we did for the short amount of time we had him here.
“I think the important thing with people, this is both Jalen [Ramsey] and Odell I feel this way about, do you leave an impact? What kind of relationships do you build and then what kind of impact do you leave? Both of those guys certainly left a big impact on me and this place. Jalen was here from 2019 to a couple years ago and even Odell was just a handful of months but the presence, the charisma, and the ability to really have such a good feel for what is needed in terms of the dynamics of the room. He’s as fun and as aware as anybody that I have been around. He was a real joy to coach, and I still keep in touch with both those guys. They mean a lot to me.”
They didn’t mean enough, of course, for the Rams to keep them. Ramsey was traded, and Beckham wasn’t re-signed — in 2023 or 2024. And while Beckham surely have plenty of reasons to show that he can still get it done, returning to the place where he was potentially on track to be Super Bowl MVP against a Rams team that didn’t want him back should give him extra motivation.
All he needs is enough chances to do it.
The NFL’s fine system is weird. Beyond the bizarrely specific amounts of the punishments.
On Sunday, Rams receiver Puka Nacua threw a punch. He was ejected.
He then was fined. The amount was only $5,424.
How can an infraction that costs so little carry with it the penalty of ejection? Other conduct (like taunting, for example) draws fines in the four figures, but never an ejection.
As explained on Monday’s PFT Live, the NFL should generally reconsider the concept of ejections. Beyond the inconsistency of it (for example, Lions safety Brian Branch was ejected for an illegal hit on a defenseless player, but Panthers safety Xavier Woods wasn’t), an ejection potentially undermines the integrity of the various wagers placed on a game.
For example, we’ve seen players throw a punch and not be ejected. Nacua throws a punch and he is. And there go the overs on his prop bets.
Why not handle aberrant behavior with a potential suspension? And if the behavior (like a punch) only counts for a fine of $5,424, why even eject at all?
The suspension process is more deliberate. It gives the player a chance to appeal. Ejections are abrupt and immediate and not subject to review or oversight.
Yes, there needs to be a line that a player shouldn’t be able to cross during a game. But that line needs to make sense and, given that the league office ultimately controls all ejections, it needs to be clearly understood and consistently applied.
The Rams ruled out starting right tackle Rob Havenstein.
Havenstein did not practice this week with an ankle injury that limited him to 58 of 77 snaps last week against Seattle.
Coach Sean McVay said Saturday the Rams still are “working through” who will play right tackle.
The Rams expect to have offensive linemen Steve Avila (knee) and Jonah Jackson (shoulder) back from injured reserve. Both players were full participants in Thursday and Friday’s practices.
“There’s a good chance of that,” McVay said when asked if either Avila or Jackson will start against the Dolphins.
The Rams also ruled out nose tackle Neville Gallimore (shoulder) after he missed practice all week.
Safety Kam Curl (knee), offensive lineman Kevin Dotson (ankle/knee) and linebacker Christian Rozeboom (neck) are listed as questionable, but McVay said he expects all three to play.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said on Saturday that he wasn’t sure if Tyreek Hill would be able to play in Monday night’s matchup with the Rams and the injury report reflects that uncertainty.
Hill (wrist) is listed as questionable for the Week 10 game.
Hill was added to the injury report on Friday as a non-participant. He did not practice on Saturday either.
In eight games this season, Hill has 34 receptions for 446 yards with one touchdown.
Offensive lineman Austin Jackson (knee) is out. Receiver River Cracraft (shoulder), safety Jevon Holland (hand/knee), fullback Alec Ingold (calf), and safety Patrick McMorris (calf) are all questionable.
Everyone else for Miami is set to play.
