Rams' nightmare Williams fumble canceled out by equally horrid Dolphins gaffe

The LA Rams need to win. But to do that, the LA Rams offense has to show up, gain yards, and put points on the scoreboard. So far in the first half, everyone seems to understand that prerequisite. All but the LA Rams offense, that is. You see, in the midst of the second quarter, the LA Rams were down by 10 points, had just 29 offensive yards, had surrendered two quarterback sacks, and had thrown an interception and fumbled the football.

Oh, I suppose that I should mention. It is Monday Night Football at SoFi Stadium. And it's the Miami Dolphins taking on the LA Rams.

That fumble occurred on the first offensive play after Rams inside linebacker Christian Rozeboom had come up with his first interception of the season. Despite a solid runback, the Rams were penalized for an illegal block on the interception return (the replay did not support the call), putting the Rams in poor field position.

The Rams offense was flailing on the football field. And the more the Rams offense struggled, the more incensed the Rams defense became. After the Dolphins offense gained 12 yards on their first play, the defense stiffened. On the next play, NT Bobby Brown III tackled Dolphins RB Jaylen Wright for a three-yard loss. A pass for no gain set up the Rams pass rush on the next play. On the next play, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa dropped back and was sacked by Rams rookie outside linebacker Jared Verse.

It was more than a sack. Verse stripped the football, forcing a fumble, and recovered the loose football. That turnover turned the football back over to the offense on the Miami Dolphins 36-yard line. The offense did advance the football to the Miami Dolphins 22-yard line with first down and 10 yards to go, but the drive stalled at the Dolphins 16-yard line.

The Rams called on rookie kicker Joshua Karty to enter the game and put the Rams on the scoreboard. WIth his kick, the Rams inched closed to the Dolphins.

At Halftime

Miami Dolphins 10
Los Angeles Rams 6

The Rams pivoted to a hurry-up offense that seemed to gain some traction within two minutes remaining in the first half. But the Rams gave up another sack, forcing the Rams to use their third and final time out of the half. That led to the Rams completing a pass to Puka Nacua, Stafford spiking the football, and rookie K Joshua Karty kicking his career-long 55-yard field goal.

The Rams get the football to open the second half.

As always, thanks for reading.

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