Dolphins Out to Get Goff Again

The Miami Dolphins will get to face Jared Goff for a third time Sunday, and based on their past history they have to be looking forward to the matchup a lot more than the Detroit Lions quarterback.

To say the Dolphins have been tough on Goff would be putting it mildly.

Goff had a 42-27 career record as a starter during his five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams before he went to the Detroit in the big Matthew Stafford trade last year, but he's 0-2 against Miami.

His passer rating of 65.9 in those two teams is his third-worst against any opponent, ahead only of 59.5 against New England and his 57.4 against Pittsburgh.

The Dolphins' Goff games, if you want to call them that, came in 2016 and 2020 and each featured the NFL starting debut of the quarterbacks who'll face off Sunday, Goff himself and Tua Tagovailoa.

The Dolphins defeated the Rams, 14-10, in Los Angeles in Week 11 and Goff, starting after replacing veteran Case Keenum, threw short all game while completing 17 of 31 passes for 134 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions and a 65.8 passer rating.

The Rams led 10-0 in that game before the Dolphins rallied for two late touchdowns after a missed field goal attempt and a three-and-out.

Then in 2020, Goff had more success moving the ball as he passed for 355 yards, but he turned the ball over four times in the Dolphins' 28-17 victory in a game where they were outgained 471-145.

The Dolphins defense threw all sorts of different looks at Goff that day and had him totally confused, which resulted in the four first-half turnovers.

The Dolphins' four touchdowns that day came on Andrew Van Ginkel's 78-yard fumble recovery after Emmanuel Ogbah blasted Goff on a sack, Myles Gaskin's 1-yard run right after Shaq Lawson strip-sacked Goff and Kyle Van Noy returned the fumble to the 1; Jakeem Grant's 88-yard punt return; and Tua's 3-yard touchdown pass to DeVante Parker after Christian Wilkins picked off Goff to give Miami the ball at the Rams 33.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR EVEN MORE COVERAGE ON THE MIAMI DOLPHINS, CHECK OUT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S MIAMI DOLPHINS PAGE ON SI.COM.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

GOFF OFF THE PAST TWO GAMES

Goff now is in his second season with the Lions, and things got off to a great start for their offense as they led the NFL in scoring through the first four games. In those games, Goff threw three interceptions and lost one fumble.

But the offense combined for six points the past two games, before and after the Lions' bye, And turnovers have become a problem for Goff and the Lions.

In the 29-0 loss against the Patriots in Week 5, Goff threw an interception and lost a fumble and those numbers were two and two in the 24-6 loss at Dallas last Sunday, giving Goff six turnovers in two games.

That's a good omen for a Dolphins defense that had gone three games without a takeaway before intercepting Kenny Pickett three times Sunday night, including Noah Igbinoghene's game-clinching pick in the final minute.

After all, it's not like the Dolphins don't have a good history with Goff.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Dolphins news and analysis year-round. Also, you can follow me on Twitter at @PoupartNFL, and that's where you can ask questions for the regular All Dolphins mailbags. You also can ask questions via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.