The Dolphins had an extra week to prepare for the Rams ahead of Sunday’s Week 8 showdown, and looking at the way they beat Los Angeles, it’s safe to say they took advantage of the additional prep time. They saw Jared Goff as a weakness when under pressure and attacked him – relentlessly.
The result was a 28-17 win, largely thanks to four turnovers by Goff, all of which came when he was blitzed. Fans and even the commentators in the booth wondered why the Rams had no answer for Miami’s endless pressure, continually going with empty backfields and no extra blockers to help protect Goff.
Kurt Warner asked the same question on Twitter Monday night, blasting the Rams for having no counter on Sunday afternoon.
Dumbfounded that @MiamiDolphins repeatly brought blitz 0 vs @RamsNFL & they never came up w/ an answer!!! Cost them all day long & MIA dropped another Pick 6! Even more amazing when u think same Blitz cost them SB53… How do u not have a plan? #StudyBall @QBConfidential Coming!
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) November 3, 2020
Brian Flores was the Patriots’ defensive play caller in Super Bowl LIII when the Rams were stymied on offense. However, McVay was adamant Sunday that it was a completely different game plan than the one Los Angeles faced in the Super Bowl two seasons ago.
“No. No, this was not even close to the same game plan,” he said plainly. “They did activate some 6-1 fronts and had some different things where, you know, they’ve always been a part of their identity has been to zero-pressure. But they did a great job today and it didn’t have anything to do with the Super Bowl.”
Michael Brockers said he’s never seen a team attack a quarterback with zero-coverage blitzes as much as the Dolphins did. Goff didn’t seem surprised by the Dolphins’ approach, but he did admit the Rams weren’t quick enough to respond.
“They did a good job of applying some pressure. That’s kind of how they’re built and we did not respond quickly enough or well enough and that starts with me and I’ve got to be better,” he said Sunday.