With Tua Tagovailoa again, Dolphins look to finish skid at surging Rams

Revived over their past three games, the Los Angeles Rams will get to show off their new look when they play host to the Miami Dolphins on Monday night at Inglewood, Calif.

The Rams (4-4) are on a three-game winning streak after opening their season with one victory in five games behind a slew of injuries, including nine combined games missed from wide receivers Puka Nacua (knee) and Cooper Kupp (ankle).

Los Angeles’ most recent victory came in Week 9 on the road against the Seattle Seahawks when they gave up a pair of touchdowns in the final minute of the first half then rallied from a 10-point deficit to earn a 26-20 win in overtime on Sunday.

The Rams’ mix-and-match offensive line has continued to improve, although the upheaval will continue as tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle) has been ruled out for Monday.

Guard/center Jonah Jackson (shoulder) is expected to return after missing the past six games, while guard/center Steve Avila (knee) has not been ruled out after missing the past seven games. Both were on injured reserve but had their practice windows open Thursday. Offensive lineman Joe Noteboom (ankle) was activated from IR on Tuesday.

The Rams offense has averaged 25.3 points over the winning streak after scoring 18.8 points over the first five games.

Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford entered the week 10th in the NFL with 246.1 yards passing per game. Running back Kyren Williams has 602 yards on the ground with eight TDs, though he just saw his 10-game regular-season touchdown streak (dating back to last season) end in Seattle.

The Los Angeles defensive line is showing growth following the departure of Aaron Donald. Edge rushers Byron Young (four sacks) and rookie Jared Verse (3 1/2 sacks) have opposing quarterbacks under relentless pressure.

“It’s pretty fun to be around this group,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said of his defense. “And they’ve got just a contagious energy and enthusiasm.”

Two games into the return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after his most recent concussion, the Dolphins (2-6) are starting to deliver the kind of offense they expected. Miami has lost both games since Tagovailoa’s return but scored 27 points in each after they averaged 10 points in the four games he was out of action.

The Dolphins fell 30-27 on Sunday when Bills kicker Tyler Bass hit a 61-yard field goal with five seconds to play. Miami tied the score with 1:38 remaining on Tagovailoa’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle.

Tagovailoa was an impressive 25-of-28 passing for 231 yards and two touchdowns at Buffalo. His presence has allowed the running game to improve with De’Von Achane delivering 160 yards on the ground and a TD over the past two games.

“He’s the perfect guy to be the QB of this offense,” Achane said of Tagovailoa. “He knows so much when it comes to this offense because it has so much motion and you have to know a lot of things. … He brings a lot of confidence. He makes our job easy.”

Tyreek Hill has 10 receptions for 152 yards over the past two games after he had 11 catches for 100 yards in three games with Tyler Huntley at QB.

Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson (knee) and safety Jevon Holland (hand, knee) did not practice Thursday.

After a one-handed TD catch to win Sunday’s game at Seattle in overtime, Rams wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (toe), did not practice Thursday but his injury is not deemed serious. Los Angeles safety Kamren Curl (knee) and guard Kevin Dotson (ankle) also did not practice but are expected to play Monday.

–Field Level Media