The Miami Dolphins will look to move their record to 3-6 when they take on the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.

The Dolphins are coming off back-to-back heartbreaking losses to the Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returned to the starting lineup. The Rams are 4-4 after a 26-20 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday.

The teams meet for the first time since the 2020 season, when the Dolphins won 28-17 at Miami in Tagovailoa’s first NFL start.

Here are the five biggest storylines for this Week 10 matchup.

Not only have we been waiting for Tyreek Hill to come up with some big plays since the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, now we have suggestions for possible surgery to fix the current wrist problem. The Dolphins could use Hill in this game as it looks like a high-scoring deal, but they really need the 2022 and 2023 build.

The defense hasn’t delivered the last two games, allowing 28 and 30 points, but will have key starter Zach Sieler back in the lineup, along with cornerbacks Kader Kohou and Storm Duck. It will also help that the Dolphins won’t be facing a quarterback who can extend the play like Kyler Murray and Josh Allen do. It’s time for that group to put on a winning performance.

In terms of key defensive players, however, the one to watch will be cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who will face his former team for the first time since the Dolphins acquired him in a trade. Ramsey has the ability to play in a variety of ways for Miami’s defense, though he’ll have to fight the urge to try too hard to make a big play given the emotions he shared about facing the team he won a Super Bowl title with.

The Dolphins offense has come alive since Tagovailoa returned to the lineup and will face a mediocre Rams defense on Monday night. But it’s also a Rams defense that’s very good at rushing the passer, as evidenced by the five players with at least three sacks on the season (the Dolphins don’t even have one). The front five will give Tagovailoa time to throw those non-rush plays, and that group will include veteran Kendall Lamm starting at right tackle in place of the injured Austin Jackson.

This will be a moot point if the score isn’t close, but the way the NFL works, it probably will be. And if it really is a close game, then the Dolphins simply have to find a way to make the plays at the end — and that’s offense and defense. The Kansas City Chiefs are 9-0 this season and the biggest reason is that they always make that key play that makes the difference, the most recent example being the shutout against Denver on Sunday. If the Dolphins want to stop their slide and make some sort of push this season, they need to start making plays like this.