What we learned from Miami’s 23-15 win

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1. Sloppy play reigns supreme. You can’t tell the story of this game without explaining the calamity that was in the first half. Near the end of the first quarter, Calais Campbell deflected a Matthew Stafford pass just enough to redirect it into the arms of the linebacker Anthony Walker for an interception. After a Miami field goal and a Rams punt, Tua Tagovailoa returned the favor, threw an off-balance pass into the arms of Christian Rozeboom for an interception. At the next play, Kyren Williams fumbled and returned possession to the Dolphins. Four plays later, Jared Verse strip-fired Tagovailoa, traded possession again. The turnover fest cooled off from there, but the errors continued. An open Jaylen Waddle dropped a pass on third down. Stafford fumbled but recovered it (he did it again early in the third quarter). Joshua Karty missed a 57-yard field goal. And while that wasn’t the last mistake, defensive tackle Bobby Brown drew a personal foul penalty on a header Liam Eichenbergand gifted the Dolphins 15 free yards on a drive that ended in one Jason Sanders field goal. Mistakes abounded throughout the night, making for a bit of an ugly viewing experience, but the Dolphins won because they were able to capitalize on their opportunities more often than the Rams. Let’s just hope the next Monday night game doesn’t get so messy.
2. Tagovailoa struggles through up-and-down night. Miami’s offense has struggled throughout the 2024 season, and it was by no means a pretty game for either offense, but if I had to pick one over the other, it’s Miami’s operation for at least one night. The reasoning is simple: The Dolphins got the job done on third down more often than the opposition. The Dolphins finished 6 of 13 on third down, scored on just three of their 10 possessions and, most importantly, managed to put points on the board on every drive that ended in Rams territory. The picture itself wasn’t the best — Tagovailoa’s pocket awareness and reaction were shockingly poor, suggesting some lingering rust after his extended layoff — but he still managed to make enough throws to sustain drives long enough to result in points. And Tagovailoa capped off the second most impressive drive of the night with one more dart Tyreek Hill for a score. Coupled with a suddenly suffocating defense, that 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 Sieler‘s return might have flown under the radar for the average football fan, but football connoisseurs — especially those who love trench plays — understood how important it could be for the Dolphins. So did the Rams. They double-teamed Sieler 25 times on the night – good for 58.1% of his 43 pass rushing snaps – but still managed to register 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 entire unit. Campbell caused Stafford’s interception and recorded a sack and two pressures as a rookie Hack Robinson finished with a team high five to go with a sack. The most important stat of them all defined the night for this matchup: Of Miami’s four sacks, three came on third down. After meandering as a generally average unit through most of the season, the Dolphins brought a new aggression to SoFi Stadium on Monday night, keeping the Rams from getting a goal-to-go situation until the fourth quarter and keeping them out of the end zone all through the night. If the Dolphins can maintain this, they might have reason to hope they can salvage this season.
4. Rams drop the ball all night. This isn’t meant to be completely literal – although there were some of those too – but Los Angeles will be kicking 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 cut a one-score game before pleading to recover an onside kick (they didn’t). It was shocking to see a Sean McVay offense struggle so much, especially considering Stafford had both Cooper Coup and Puka Nacua at his disposal. Nacua finished with nine catches for 98 yards and Kupp followed close behind with seven catches for 80 yards, but their combined efforts could not push them into the end zone. Stafford attempted 46 passes and completed 32 for 293 yards, but will likely reflect on those third-down sacks and the many other missed opportunities more than he will remember his lesser successes. After winning three straight to dig out of a 1-4 hole, the Rams once again have problems to solve.
5. Verse is a stud. If Jared Verse wasn’t on your radar when he finished his illustrious career at Florida State, he better be there now. Just check out the numbers from Monday night: four tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a team-high six quarterback pressures (including two rushing 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 Brad Fiske have both been quality investments by the Rams. The verse should be a favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year, could play on the outside for the Pro Bowl and could be a household name before long. Even with the Rams’ loss, it wasn’t hard to spot Verse’s contributions. Get used to seeing more of it.

Next Gen Stats Insight from Dolphins-Aries (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) against the Rams on Monday night. He logged four of his pressures in 16 matchups against right tackle Joe Noteboomwho played in his first game since Week 1 this season.

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