QB Tables Turned for Dolphins-Rams
The Miami Dolphins will face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday for the first time since 2016 when they pulled out a 14-10 victory at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
That game will be remembered in Miami for the late comeback that was capped by Ryan Tannehill's touchdown pass to DeVante Parker in the final minute, moved the Dolphins to 6-4 on the season and helped them on their way to earning a playoff berth in Adam Gase's first season as head coach.
But the game also was significant in that it marked the NFL starting debut of Rams quarterback Jared Goff a little more than six months after he was the first overall pick in the 2016 draft.
Of course, the reverse is happening Sunday, with 2020 fifth overall pick Tua Tagovailoa making his first NFL start for the Dolphins.
And Tua and the Dolphins certainly will be hoping for a better offensive performance than Goff produced in that Nov. 20, 2016 game.
Goff completed 17 of 31 passes with no touchdowns and no interceptions, but he threw for only 134 yards with no completion longer than 21 yards.
"It wasn't our best game of the year, but it wasn't our worst," Goff said. "We had a chance to win and ultimately didn't. It was a fun day to be out there and to get my career started, but I don't really want to watch that film anytime soon."
The only defensive player who faced Goff that day still with the Dolphin is safety Bobby McCain, who was playing slot cornerback at that time.
Other members of the Dolphins have faced Goff while playing for another team, most notably the former New England Patriots veterans who joined the Dolphins over the past two offseasons — Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts, Ted Karras and Eric Rowe.
And, of course, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores played a big role in the Patriots' ability to shut down the Rams offense in New England's 13-3 victory in Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.
Flores was the de facto Patriots defensive coordinator that season and his defense shut down Goff, who was 19-for-38 for 229 yards with no touchdown and an interception and was sacked four times.
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Goff has rebounded in 2020 after a sub-par season and is on pace to set a career high with a 102.4 passer rating, which ranks 11th in the NFl. Goff is completing 67.7 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.
“I think he’s a very good quarterback," Flores said. "He’s a good quarterback. I know the last time I saw him, he was a very good quarterback then and he’s a very good quarterback now. I think you can see an improvement on a yearly basis. He’s getting the ball out quickly, making good decisions, basically overall having command of the offense, leadership on that team and production. The guy has been very productive. He can stand in the pocket and make throws, he can get outside the pocket and make throws. This is a very good player on a very good offense with a lot of good skill players, a good run game, a good pass game, a good boot game. A lot of issues. We have a lot to get ready for.”
