St. Louis Rams Hand Game To Miami Dolphins 17-14

Oct 14 2012; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon (50) causes St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) to fumble in the fourth quarter at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

The St. Louis Rams are now sitting right at the .500 mark after an ugly loss to the Miami Dolphins. The Rams dominated on both the offense and defensive side of the field, but ended up losing the game because of dumb penalties and their special teams play.

The Rams started off hot, with nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half of the game. The “top ranked” Miami rushing defense got destroyed by Daryl Richardson and Steven Jackson, starting off with a 44 yard rush that set the Rams up with the first points of the game. The Rams offense ended the day with 162 yards rushing, 315 yards passing, but only one touchdown.

Tannehill played average, at best, going three-and-out on six occasions throughout the game. Luckily, the screen game to Reggie Bush was effective out of the backfield, which allowed the rookie to go 21 of 29 without having to ever take a shot down the field. Tannehill did have one long completion, which he tossed to Marlon Moore when Janoris Jenkins was caught staring into the backfield. He tossed another dump pass to the tight end on the goal line, which would end up being the pivotal score of the game.

The Rams really did hand this game away, with costly turnovers, bad penalties, and missed field goals. St. Louis committed a season high 12 penalties for 94 yards, and gave the Miami Dolphins 3 points before halftime on a fumbled kickoff return from Brit Miller. To top it off, the typically-automatic Greg Zuerlein missed 3 out of his 5 field goals, one from only 36 yards out. The day ended with a 66 yard field goal attempt, which sailed wide-left, just like the other two kicks.

Next week, the St. Louis Rams take on the Green Bay Packers in the Edward Jones Dome, as they attempt to push themselves back above .500 in Week 7. The Packers have struggled so far this season, and the Rams are playing extremely under the lights in St. Louis. A win here would extend the win winning streak to 3-0, and likely keep them in good position heading into the London game against the New England Patriots.