Monday Night Football: Dolphins keep hope alive, defeat Rams 23-15

The game between the Dolphins and Rams on Monday night was not exactly pretty on either side. But Miami was able to keep its dwindling playoff hopes alive with a 23-15 win over the Rams.

The Dolphins scored two touchdowns, each on their first drive of the half. Beyond that, Miami struggled to get into scoring position, with Jason Sanders making field goals from 50 and 37 yards, and the Dolphins gaining just 238 yards.

The Rams were on offense much of the night, with high snaps, penalties and poor pass protection derailing their possessions. They started 1-of-10 on third down and 0-of-2 in the red zone.

The two teams combined for four turnovers, three of which came in the second quarter. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw an interception and lost a fumble on a strip sack, while Matthew Stafford also had an interception and Rams running back Kyren Williams lost a fumble.

Miami went up 17-6 midway through the third quarter when Tyreek Hill caught his first touchdown since Week 1 on a 1-yard pass from Tagovailoa. Tight end Jonnu Smith had set the score by bouncing off defenders for a 33-yard reception to the 1-yard line.

After Joshua Karty cut the lead to 17-9 with a 53-yard field goal, the Dolphins answered with a 37-yard field goal by Jason Sanders to make it 20-9.

The Rams got inside the 10, but Stafford’s pass was incomplete to Demarcus Robinson on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Karty’s 22-yard field goal left Los Angeles trailing by eight points with 6:31 remaining.

But it wouldn’t be enough, as Los Angeles’ defense couldn’t get off the field. Tagovailoa found former Ram Odell Beckham Jr. for an 11-yard pass on third-and-6 in Miami territory. From there, the Dolphins were able to drive to the Los Angeles 31 and put the game out of reach with a 50-yard Sanders field goal.

While LA cut Miami’s lead to eight with 39 seconds left, the Rams were unable to recover the onside kick.

Tagovailoa finished 20 of 28 passing for 207 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble. Jaylen Waddle led with 57 yards on three catches. Hill caught three passes for 16 yards and rushed twice for 11 yards.

Receiver Malik Washington scored his first career touchdown on an 18-yard carry to cap Miami’s opening drive in the first quarter.

On the other end, Stafford finished 32 of 46 for 293 yards with an interception.

Williams rushed for 62 yards on 15 carries. Nacua caught nine passes for 98 yards, while Cooper Kupp added seven receptions for 80 yards.

Dolphins cornerback Kendall Fuller had to leave the game due to a concussion, and left guard Robert Jones also left with a knee injury.

With the win, Miami now sits at 3-6 and will host the 2-7 Raiders next weekend. The 4-5 Rams head east to play the 3-7 Patriots.