Niners Nation
Or can the Dolphins snap their current three-game losing streak?
The Miami Dolphins and the Los Angeles Rams. Two teams with connections to San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, and two teams on very different trajectories. The Rams are on a three-game winning streak, and the Dolphins are on a three-game losing streak.
The Rams have also won some big games. We all remember the 49ers loss in Week 2. The Rams also handed the Minnesota Vikings one of their current two losses. They started the season with injury issues but are getting their pieces back. The most notable being wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua returning from injury. Their returns over the last couple of weeks may have contributed to the Rams’ passing offense being in the top 10.
Then there’s the Dolphins. They haven’t had much luck with the injury front either. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered another concussion against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2, which sidelined him until Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals. That aforementioned Cardinals game ended in the worst way: a walk-off field goal giving the Cardinals a 28-27 victory. The Dolphins led the entire game until the clock ticked to 1 second. Week 9 wasn’t much better, with a 30-27 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins made a game-tying touchdown with less than two minutes to go, but some back-breaking defensive penalties moved the Bills into field goal range to win.
You are familiar with both head coaches. Rams head coach Sean McVay and Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel have connections to Kyle Shanahan, both serving on his staff in some capacity throughout Shanahan’s career. No doubt the broadcast will remind you of this at some point. Tonight, the one thing 49ers fans care about is the NFC West, and that means we’re Dolphins fans.
The Rams have a five-game losing streak to the Dolphins. If this trajectory is any indication, it might get snapped tonight. A Rams victory would kick the 49ers back to third place in the NFC West. A Rams loss would not only help divisional standings; should the 49ers win later when the latter plays the Dolphins in Week 16, it would help in tiebreaking scenarios against common opponents.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Rams favored by 2.5 points. With how the Dolphins have played the last few weeks, it’s hard not to take the Rams in this to cover. The game is in Los Angeles, and the Dolphins seem to get in their own way more than they would like. Take the Rams.
The over-under is set at 49.5 points. While I think both defenses aren’t the greatest, and this game has the potential to exceed that, I’m leaning toward the under in this situation. I’m not feeling the most confident about it, but I think it will be a bit less scoring than 49.5 points will get me.
Let’s see if Mike McDaniel, former offensive coordinator of the 49ers, can do his previous boss a...
