As the Dolphins travel to L.A. to face the Rams, the secondary must play big

Jalen Ramsey doesn’t have a bad thing to say about his time in Los Angeles.

He won his first Super Bowl with the Rams in 2021. He still has ties with a few of his former teammates. He even donated $5,000 to five local nonprofits just to celebrate his return. But with the Miami Dolphins’ season on the line as the team travels to the City of Angels to play the Rams, Ramsey wants to make one thing clear: Monday night’s game isn’t a happy homecoming.

This West Coast trip is about business.

“The game ain’t about me,” Ramsey said, adding that he hasn’t even responded to his former teammates who have reached out to him up this week. “It’s not about me returning. It’s about the Miami Dolphins versus the L.A. Rams and us trying to get back on track.”

Having lost three in a row, the 2-6 Dolphins will need to beat the Rams in SoFi Stadium to keep any semblance of their playoff hopes alive. Although Miami will get key defensive contributors such as defensive tackle Zach Sieler and nickel corner Kader Kohou back in the lineup, the team could also be without star receiver Tyreek Hill (wrist) and Jevón Holland (hand/knee), both of whom are questionable for the game. And as much as Ramsey doesn’t want to make the game about him, the secondary’s play will be critical to stop a high-powered offense led by the star receiver duo of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.

“That’s their offense,” cornerback Kendall Fuller said of the receivers.

Added Ramsey: “I’ve got a ton of respect for [Kupp]. When healthy, I easily think he’s a top-five receiver in the NFL, always up to the debate of being the best.”

Despite early season injuries to Nacua and Kupp, both have returned during the last few weeks. It’s no surprise that their presence in the offense has corresponded with the Rams’ three-game win streak.

“Puka and Cooper Kupp are two of the toughest receivers I believe in the National Football League,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said, later adding “their short-area quickness and ability to get open in that intermediate window in coverage is outstanding.”

Luckily, the Dolphins should be somewhat familiar with the Rams’ offense seeing as how they see some version of it on a day-to-day basis. Both teams’ offensive schemes can be linked to coach Mike Shannahan, whom Mike McDaniel and Sean McVay worked under in the early 2010s.

“Just the various ways that they can attack you,” McDaniel said when asked about what makes the Rams offense so dangerous. “If your pass rush isn’t getting home, the offense paired with the arm talent of [Matthew] Stafford is very dangerous and they can score points in a hurry while also maintaining ball control and having good ground game and all of that. So you have to be on your Ps and Qs or things will get exposed.”

The Rams have certainly exposed opposing defenses as of late. During their three-game win streak, Stafford has thrown for more than 730 yards and six touchdowns. How the Dolphins pressure the 16-year veteran will be key.

“There is nothing that Matt Stafford hasn’t seen,” Weaver said, “so we’re probably going to be in that mode where we’re going to be selective when we decide to apply pressure and our four-man rush will have to come alive.”

There’s hope that Sieler’s return to the lineup will greatly help a unit that ranks second to last in sacks. In back-to-back weeks, the pass rush’s inability to turn pressures into sacks has allowed opposing quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Josh Allen to gash them as the two combined for more than 500 yards passing and five touchdowns.

“Everybody loves when Zach is out there,” outside linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah said, later adding that the team has missed him “bringing the defense together, making big plays, giving us that spark that we were missing. We’re just glad to have him back.”

Throw in the addition of Kohou, which will allow Ramsey to return to his main position as a boundary corner, and the Dolphins could actually prove why they own the fourth-best passing defense in the league. A healthy Holland would be an added bonus.

“Right now I’d say it’s TBD,” Holland said of his potential availability. “Still working through the week, we’ve got a good amount of time before the game. I’m sure it will be a gametime decision.”

As the Dolphins enter into the second half of their season, Monday night will be the ultimate determinant of their future. Lose and it’s difficult to see a scenario when a 2-7 team makes the postseason. Win and the next two opponents – the middling Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots – could potentially help the Dolphins build a little three-game win streak of their own, something that could pay dividends as the schedule gets tougher.

“Our start has been rocky to say the least,” offensive tackle Terron Armstead said, “but we still have everything that we want in front of us and it all starts with this game on Monday.”

As much as the Dolphins’ talent, particularly in the secondary, was heralded at the start of the season, it must actually come through on Monday. And what better place for stars to shine than in Hollywood?

“These prime time games,” Weaver said, “that’s when players like your Jalen Ramseys, your Jevón Hollands, all your guys who are supposed to be prime time guys; that’s when they show up.”