NFL
By George Lopez
The Los Angeles Rams return to SoFi Stadium for a prime-time matchup as they host the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. The Rams are coming off a thrilling 26-20 OT victory over the Seattle Seahawks for their 3rd straight win. The Dolphins have lost 3 straight following their 30-27 defeat to the Buffalo Bills. The Rams may be getting closer to full strength as OL Steven Avila and Jonah Jackson have practiced this week and there is a possibility that they may play Monday night though the team has not made any announcement.
In their win against Seattle, quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 25-44 passes for 298 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. In their past few games, Head Coach Sean McVay had gone with a more balanced offensive attack. He got away from that in the game against Seattle with 44 pass attempts to only 24 rushing attempts. Look for McVay to go back to a more balanced attack against the Dolphins defense.
Cooper Kupp led all receivers with 11 receptions for 104 yards. Puka Nacua was held to 1 reception on 4 targets before being ejected from the game. In his absence, Demarcus Robinson stepped up as a trusted target for Stafford with 6 receptions for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns including an amazing one-handed touchdown reception in overtime to give the Rams the victory. Of Stafford’s 44 pass attempts, 28 went to 3 different receivers. Look for Stafford to spread the ball around to multiple receivers against the Dolphins secondary.
The Seahawks rush defense to a good job in containing RB Kyren Williams, holding him to 69 yards on 22 carries with most of the yards coming in the 2nd half. Backup RB Blake Corum only had 1 carry in the game. For the Rams offense to fire on all cylinders, the running game needs to be established early in the game. Look for McVay to go to Williams early in the game to establish the run which in turn will open up the Rams vaunted play-action passing attack.
Tua Tagovailoa is back under center leading the Dolphins offense. Against Buffalo, Tagovailoa completed 25-28 passes for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns. Though there are concerns with the number of concussions Tagovailoa has received in his short NFL career, he still should be considered a threat to tuck the ball and run to escape plays. The Rams edge rushers of Byron Young and Jared Verse will need to be mindful of Tagovailoa’s ability to escape the pocket. The Rams edge rushers will look to maintain outside containment and not provide Tagovailoa an outside avenue of escape.
The Dolphins amassed 149 rushing yards against the Bills defense and will look to establish their running game against the Rams. Leading the way for the Dolphins are RB De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert who accounted for 119 of the 149 rushing yards against the Bills. Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula will look to use a defensive scheme that will close up the inside running lanes. The Rams interior defensive lineman will look to get off their blocks to close up the interior running lanes. The Rams defensive edge will need to maintain outside containment. If they are not able to do this, the Dolphins will look to exploit the Rams defensive edge by running off tackle.
Tyreek Hill is the Dolphins deep threat at WR. With his speed, Hill has the ability to explode past cornerback when playing press coverage against him. Look for the Rams to roll over a safety to provide over-the-top coverage on Hill. Though Hill will be a primary focus in the Rams pass coverage, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jaylen Waddle pose a threat in the Dolphins passing attack. Look for the Rams to give a 2 deep safety look throughout the game while primarily playing in a nickel defense.
The Rams are looking to extend their winning streak to 4 games while the Dolphins are looking to end their 3-game losing streak. Look for the Rams to extend their winning streak to 4 games and inch closer to the top of the NFC West.
