Dolphins-Rams Week 10 Instant Takeaways

The Miami Dolphins defense came up big in a much-needed victory at SoFi Stadium.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) catches the ball against the Los Angeles Rams in the first half at SoFi Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

What stood out in the Miami Dolphins Week 10 game against the Los Angeles Rams?

We'll start with the inactive list, which featured injured fullback Alec Ingold, though the Dolphins did have DT Zach Sieler and S Jevon Holland back from injury.

The Dolphins did not have an emergency third quarterback for a third consecutive game.

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GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

The Dolphins got some players back on defense, and it showed. This was way more representative of the kind of defense the team can play.

We picked Calais Campbell as our Dolphins midseason MVP, and he had another stellar outing against the Rams. He was a regular visitor in the Rams' backfield and again used his long arms to bat down a couple of passes, including one that ended in an interception for the Dolphins.

It's interesting that Raheem Mostert was not a factor at all in the running game, though he did come up with some nice plays as a receiver.

This could have been a better performance by the Dolphins offense, and it starts with Tua Tagovailoa. He committed two turnovers, a pick and a fumble, and showed some hesitation in the pocket several times, contributing to some of the sacks he took. Worse, he showed poor judgment when he tried to tackle linebacker Christian Rozeboom after an interception by going low and wound up getting kicked in the head in the process.

The Dolphins were outgained but were able to win because they were more efficient on third down (6-13 versus 2-for-11) and also better in the red zone.

It really wasn't a work of art, but the defense stepped up, and the bottom line was a much-needed win that finally ended the Dolphins' three-game losing streak.

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FIRST QUARTER

The Dolphins' first offensive play of the game was the kind they lived off of the past two seasons, but we haven't seen nearly enough of it this year: a deep in-route by Jaylen Waddle for an easy 19-yard pitch-and-catch.

Nice maneuvering in the pocket by Tua Tagovailoa on a third-and-13 before he took advantage of a busted coverage for a 36-yard completion to Waddle.

We wrote all week about how crucial it was for the defense to get Sieler back, and it took him one play to make his presence felt. He sniffed out a screen pass and dropped Kyren Williams for a 10-yard loss.

This wasn't a major catastrophe, but just another sloppy play on special teams when Siran Neal was flagged 15 yards for going out of bounds in punt coverage and not trying to get back onto the field of play immediately — no excuse for that.

We wrote that Chop Robinson is coming on, so it was good to see him get his second sack in two games.

Raheem Mostert wasn't a factor in the running game in the first half, but that was a nifty catch to convert a third-and-6 when the ball was thrown behind him.

As expected, Anthony Walker, Jr. again got the start at linebacker next to Jordyn Brooks and showed some good pass-catching skills on his interception, which, of course, came courtesy of a tip by Calais Campbell.

Crazy spin move by De'Von Achane in the open field on a run on the very next play.

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SECOND QUARTER

The Dolphins left points on the board on their drive following the Walker pick when Waddle dropped a nice touch pass from Tagovailoa. Waddle seemed to gesture after the fact he lost track of the ball. Regardless, there are too many of those drops from Waddle this season.

Tight end Julian Hill looked like he overran a block while on the move on a run by Achane, and the result was a 4-yard loss.

The Dolphins had too many negative running plays, and different players took turns missing assignments. Another one came when Liam Eichenberg badly missed his block.

Tagovailoa was pretty careless with the ball on the sack, resulting in the fumble. Robert Jones, who Jared Verse beat on the play, also was the ball but let Verse outwrestle him for it. That can't happen.

Tagovailoa later took a 15-yard sack after he couldn't find anybody open and hesitated with rushers coming after him.

It was nice to see Quinton Bell get his first sack of the season. He had been invisible on defense after getting off to a good start in training camp.

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THIRD QUARTER

Troublesome development on the first drive was Kendall Fuller leaving the game with a concussion and quickly being ruled out. This is the second concussion this season.

The Dolphins caught a break when the Rams were driving and had a first-and-10 from the Miami 28. A high shotgun snap and subsequent muffed handoff resulted in a 13-yard loss. Those are the kind of breaks the Dolphins haven't gotten often this season.

Great YAC work by Jonnu Smith after catching a third-and-3 pass in the middle of the field, as he pinballed off a would-be tackler and then weaved his way to the 1-yard line. That's why the Dolphins signed him.

We saw why the Dolphins signed DT Neil Farrell off the practice squad with a great bull rush that got him right in the face of Stafford and forced an incompletion.

Jalen Ramsey wasn't tested enough, but he showed why on a deep shot to Puka Nacua when Ramsey was all over him.

Great call by Anthony Weaver to send Jevon Holland on a blitz on the final play of the third quarter, creating a third-down sack that forced the Rams to settle for a field goal.

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FOURTH QUARTER

Nice job by Eichenberg shoving Rams defensive lineman Byron Brown in the back after a play. It was not hard enough to draw a flag but hard enough to annoy Brown to the point where he head-butted Eichenberg and was flagged for roughness, giving Miami a free 15 yards.

One play after taking a bad sack that took the Dolphins out of field goal range, Tua came back with a nifty play when he sidestepped pressure on a third-and-19 and floated a pass to Mostert for a 25-yard gain.

The Dolphins got a scare when Kader Kohou went down holding his left knee, but it was caused by banging his knees, and he missed only one play. On that play, though, the Rams completed a 21-yard pass against his replacement, Siran Neal, with Fuller sidelined and Storm Duck and Ethan Bonner inactive.

The Dolphins got two big first downs on their final drive, and this is where Tagovailoa came up big. The first came when he scrambled to his left and found Odell Beckham, Jr. for a first down on third-and-6. It was followed by a throw-in traffic to Malik Washington to set up Jason Sanders' third field goal to give Miami an 11-point lead with 2:38 left.

It was disappointing that the Dolphins gave up a late field goal, especially a 23-yard completion next to the sideline against zone coverage. Still, it didn't matter once Duke Riley recovered the onside kick to clinch the victory.

So, the Dolphins moved to 3-6 on the season and are now only a game and a half out of seventh place in the AFC standings.