On Monday night, the Miami Dolphins jumped out to an early against the Los Angeles Rams. On the game's first drive, Miami marched down the field and rookie wide receiver Malik Washington found paydirt on an end-around toss, rushing 18 yards for the touchdown.
The 2024 sixth-round pick out of the University of Virginia found the end zone on his fifth touch this season. Washington has seen his role expand with Braxton Berrios on injured reserve with a season-ending torn ACL injury.
Tyreek Hill was questionable to play because of a torn ligament in his wrist, but a game-time decision came down that he would be active against the Rams.
Dolphins battling through a down season
Before the season, Hill stated he wanted to break 2,000 receiving yards. Hill has 446 yards and one touchdown on 34 catches through eight games. He's not even on pace to eclipse 1,000 yards.
Not much is going right for the 2-6 Dolphins. The high-powered offense from a year ago, which sputtered to close out last season's regular season, hasn't re-ignited. It certainly didn't help to lose Tua Tagovailoa in Week 2, but last year's success was largely fueled by a high-octane rushing attack.
Miami averages 133.9 rushing yards per game, but the big plays haven't come yet. De'Von Achane only has one rush of 20+ yards. Last year, he had eight in just 11 games. Raheem Mostert scored 18 touchdowns in 2024. This season, he's only appeared in five games due to injuries.
The Dolphins are still relatively explosive in the air, with 15 20+ yard passing plays this season (1.9 per game), but that number pales in comparison to last year's 59 (3.5 per game).
Even with a win against the Rams, the Dolphins' odds of making the postseason would only improve to 9%. Their current odds before tonight's contest against Los Angeles are at 7%. Their fourth-place record in the AFC East is setting the stage for a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Hill spoke about this year's struggles and enduring while failing to meet expectations, per ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques.
“This process is hard, bro. Losing sucks. Everybody wants to think, ‘Oh, it's time to make plays; it's time to go outside the scheme.' Nah man, we just got to stick together as a team and just trust the process.”
“You're going to have ups; you're going to have downs. I'm going on Year 9 now, so I understand how it goes… I'm not finna dwell on it; I'm not finna lose my head over football… I'm going to control what I can control, which is running the right route, being in the right spot, being a good teammate for my teammates.”
At halftime, the Dolphins lead the Rams, 10-6.
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