The Rams made a statement with their first possession of the game, pounding the ball on the ground punctuated with a 44-yard scamper that featured some glorious blocking. At the same time, there was the negative in that same series as Brandon Gibson dropped what would have been a first down reception. Young GZ, shockingly, was required to kick the field goal instead of just awarding the Rams three points.
On the second possession, a key third down conversion by Austin Pettis set up a deep pass to Chris Givens. Credit goes to the offensive line for yet again protecting Sam well on his deep dropbacks to give Given time to get downfield....inexplicably.
Richie Incognito provided a helpful penalty. All part of the Rams' strategy to outsource his unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for our own benefit.
Greg Zuerlein missed a 52-yard field goal after a good run by Steven Jackson, though a penalty from Quinn Ojinnaka made things that much more difficult.
These are the Rams of course. A fumbled return left the Rams stunned as Janoris Jenkins stood flat-footed, Marlon Moore floating into the end zone for an easy touchdown.
Impressively, the Rams responded with a long drive largely thanks to some key plays from Brandon Gibson. A strike from Bradford to Kendricks set the Rams up in the end zone. Of course, the drive was peppered with penalties, and Zuerlein missed his second kick of the game to keep the game at 10-6.
It's a bit of a frustrating situation as Sam Bradford is now 11/19 for 169 yards, with the running combo of Steven Jackson and Daryl Richardson piling up 108 yards in 14 carries. For the Dolphins, they've rushed the ball just four times for a grand total of four yards.
Put flatly, the Rams should be winning. Let's see if they finish some of these drives, continue to run the ball as well as they have, avoid the penalties that have hamstrung those drives and defend as well as they did in the first half.