Rams-Dolphins final score: LA takes the L on Monday Night Football

The Los Angeles Rams lost a winnable game on Monday Night Football

The Los Angeles Rams lost to the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football by a final score of 23-15. This was a game that seemed ripe for the Rams to take. It was the type of game that could signal the team had finally arrived for the 2024 season, and were ready to make a push to play into January and potentially beyond, but instead LA looked mostly overwhelmed by the Monday night lights and by Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins.

The first half was a roller coaster for each team as both squads had turnovers and mental mistakes that prevented either group from running away with the game, but it was Miami who led 10-6 after the first two quarters.

In the second half, LA’s uneven play continued as Miami began to pull away with a 17-6 lead.

The Rams’ redzone woes showed up in this one as Matthew Stafford and his boys could not figure out how to get into the endzone throughout the match. Whether it was botched snaps or missed blocking assignments, LA’s offense seemed a lesser unit throughout the contest than the Dolphin’s defense as LA’s supposed scoring unit kept asking Chris Shula and his defense to step up.

It seemed like going into the year the expectation was that LA’s new look defense would hold the team back, but through nine games it has been McVay’s side of the ball that has failed to deliver more than once, and that was again the case in Week 10.

The young Rams’ team has had moments of brilliance (like when they beat the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football), but they also have had the type of head scratching mistakes and games that typically are not emblematic of a Sean McVay team (like when the Rams were blown out by the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2).

Who are these Rams? After Week 10 they are a team that is 4-5, and so far they appear to be a team incapable of getting out of their own way as much as being a team that is lacking talent or continuity in some key areas. That’s a bad combination.

Now to be fair, LA was 3-6 last year and still made the playoffs so can this team do something similar? Nine games and 10 weeks into the season it’s anyone’s guess.

After a tough loss, the Rams get a chance to get back on track in Week 11 against the New England Patriots.