The Miami Dolphins snapped their three-game losing streak on Monday night, defeating the Los Angeles Rams 23-15 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Miami opened the game needing less than three minutes to drive 70-yards and score the game’s first points on an 18-yard touchdown run by rookie Malik Washington, the first of his NFL career.
Tyreek Hill caught his second touchdown of the season in the third quarter on a short throw by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa – halting a career-long seven-game streak without a touchdown for him – to extend Miami’s lead to 17-6, an advantage they never relinquished as the Dolphins snapped the Rams’ three-game win streak. Miami’s kicker Jason Sanders also made all three of his field goals.
“I think it’s a testament to the character of this team,” Tagovailoa said after the game. “We’ve come a long way through however many losses in a row. The resilience of this team, with 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 towards the back end of the season.”
There was a scary moment for the Dolphins midway through the second quarter when, after throwing an interception, Tagovailoa appeared to try to tackle Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom by lowering his head towards the Los Angeles player.
Given Tagovailoa’s recent history of concussions, it was a worrying moment but something the quarterback was able to joke about after the victory.
When asked about the tackle, the 26-year-old said he didn’t “feel any” of the contact with the defender and added with a smile: “That was pretty bad tackling form.”
Asked whether he’s told Tagovailoa to stop tackling with his head, Miami head coach Mike McDaniel said that “the best way to do that is to not throw it to the opponent.”
After making the playoffs last year, Miami’s season was derailed when Tagovailoa suffered a concussion during the team’s Week 2 loss against the Buffalo Bills. He missed the next four games and the Dolphins went 1-3 during his absence.
Entering Monday night’s game, the Dolphins had been 0-2 since Tagovailoa’s return, losing both games on last-second field goals.
However, despite now sporting a 3-6 record after Monday’s victory, Miami remains in the playoff hunt, sitting in second place in the AFC East and 1 ½ games out of the final wild-card spot in the conference.
During Monday’s game, Miami’s defense held the Matthew Stafford-led Rams out of the endzone all night, sacking the quarterback four times. He finished with 293 passing yards, completing 32 of 46 attempts, and an interception.
“It was just negative plays at the wrong times,” Stafford said about the loss. “Whether it’s a turnover, a sack, an inefficient play on first down or whatever it was. We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit in that kind of strike zone area, 30-yard line-ish area. That was probably the difference in the game and not coming up with touchdowns.”
Los Angeles’ rookie kicker Joshua Karty made three of his five field goals in the fourth quarter to keep the Rams close. However, after hitting a 22-yarder in the final minute to make it a one-score game, the Dolphins recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the win.
“To create a wildfire all it takes is one spark,” said Miami defensive lineman Calais Campbell about ending the losing streak. “We just got to keep believing, keep fighting and keep going for it.”
The Dolphins (3-6) will next play against the Las Vegas Raiders (2-7), while the Rams (4-5) will travel to New England to play against the Patriots (3-7) on Sunday, November 17.