Prediction: Miami Dolphins vs Los Angeles Rams 11/1/20 NFL Picks, Odds

The Los Angeles Rams and the Miami Dolphins meet in week 8 NFL action from Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday afternoon in a game of high interest as Tua takes over at QB for the Dolphins.

The Los Angeles Rams will look to build off of a 24-10 win over Chicago on Monday night to improve to 5-2 on the year. Jared Goff has thitemn for 1,570 yards, 10 touchdowns and 4 interceptions on 67.4% passing while Darrell Henderson Jr. leads the Rams with 348 rushing yards and 3 TDs. Malcolm Bitemn has added 217 rushing yards and Cam Akers has 113 rushing yards for the Rams as well. Cooper Kupp leads L.A.’s receiving group with 374 receiving yards, 31 catches and 46 targets with a pair of touchdowns while Robert Woods has 329 receiving yards on 27 catches with a team-high 3 TDs. Josh Reynolds and Tyler Higbee each have 200+ receiving yards with Higbee adding 3 TDs of his own this season. Defensively, John Johnson III leads Los Angeles with a team-high 46 total tackles including a share of the team lead with 28 solo tackles while Micah Kiser is right behind with 45 total tackles including 28 solo tackles as well. Aaron Donald has a team-high 7.5 sacks while Troy Reeder has 3 sacks and Michael Brockers, Leonard Floyd and Morgan Fox each have 2 sacks on the year.

The Miami Dolphins will try to get above .500 after winning 3 of their last 4 games following a 24-0 win over the Jets last time out. Ryan Fitzpatrick’s thitemn for 1,535 yards, 10 touchdowns and 7 picks this season, but he’s being replaced in this game by 5th overall pick Tua Tagovailoa, making his 1st career NFL start in this one. Myles Gaskin leads Miami in rushing with 340 rushing yards while DeVante Parker has 29 catches on 40 targets for 364 yards and 2 TDs. Mike Gesicki and Preston Williams each have 200+ receiving yards with Williams boasting a team-high 3 touchdowns this season. On defense, Jerome Baker leads the Dolphins with 46 total tackles including 28 solo tackles while Emmanuel Ogbah has a team-high 5 sacks this season.

Head-to-head, the underdog is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings between these two teams.

I was leaning towards the Rams for the week or so leading up to this game and even for parts of Monday night’s game. However, the Dolphins did have an extra week to prepare Tua for this game and making another cross-country trip for the Rams, on a short week, against a Miami team playing with confidence under Brian Flores is still a tough task. Yes, the Rams have a solid defense with Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, but we’ve seen this Los Angeles offense stall before as well, and Tua Tagovailoa going that high in the draft was no accident. He’s extremely accurate and can move outside of the pocket. The Dolphins have also given up just 10 sacks in six games this season, good for 9th in the NFL so the protection is going to be there for Tagovailoa to give him the best chance to succeed. I think Miami has a real shot here, so I’m going to take a shot with Miami and the points in this one.