The Los Angeles Rams hosted the Miami Dolphins Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum as rookie top overall pick Jared Goff made his first career start at quarterback for the Rams.
While for much of the game it looked as is Goff had the Rams in a good position to win the game and move to 5-5 on the season, the Dolphins came back and defeated the Rams, scoring the winning touchdown with 36 seconds remaining in the game to defeat Los Angeles 14-10. The win put the Dolphins at 6-4 on the season, while the Rams fell to 4-6.
Goff had the Rams offense looking sharp in the first quarter, as after both teams had three-and-outs in their first drive, Goff led the Rams on a four-play, 68-yard drive capped off by a 24-yard touchdown run from Todd Gurley to give the Rams a 7-0 lead.
Neither offense could get anything going other than that in the first half, as the two teams combined for nine punts and the next nine drives, with four of them being after three-and-outs.
The Dolphins were set up with good field position early in the second half after fumble by Rams tight end Lance Kendricks, but on their first play quarterback Ryan Tannehill took a shot at the end zone and Rams safety Maurice Alexander came down with it for an interception.
Later in the quarter Goff put together a 10-play, 49-yard drive that ended up putting three points on the board as kicker Greg Zuerlein connected on a 46-yard field goal, putting the Rams ahead 10-0.
Los Angeles looked to add to that lead midway through the fourth quarter, as on fourth-and-one from the Dolphins 30-yard line, head coach Jeff Fisher elected to kick a field goal to go up by 13. Zuerlein missed the attempt though, as it hit the left upright.
The Dolphins responded by putting up their first points of the game on a touchdown pass from Tannehill to receiver Jarvis Landry to cut the deficit to 13-7. It looked as if Landry was stopped well short of the end zone on the play, but his offensive line pushed him forward until he reached the goal line.
After the Dolphins defense forced the Rams to punt, Tannehill led his team on another touchdown drive, connecting with receiver DeVante Parker for the game-winning touchdown.
Goff and the Rams offense had one last attempt to come back, but could not connect on a Hail Mary attempt securing the 14-10 victory for Miami.
Goff finished with 134 yards passing as he completed 17-of-31 pass attempts. Gurley rushed for 76 yards on 20 attempts.
Things will not get easier for Goff and the Rams next week as they travel to New Orleans to face Drew Brees and the high powered Saints offense Sunday at 10 a.m. Pacific time.
