MONday night football

Dolphins (2-6) at Rams (4-4)

When: 8:15 p.m. EST Monday

TV: ESPN

BetMGM NFL odds: Rams by 1

Series record: Dolphins lead 12-2.

Last meeting: Dolphins beat Rams 28-17 in Miami Gardens, Fla. on Nov. 1, 2020.

Last week: Dolphins lost to Buffalo 30-27; Rams beat Seattle 26-20, OT.

Dolphins player to watch: QB Tua Tagovailoa has been excellent since his return from injured reserve two weeks ago. He has completed 80.3% of his passes with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the past two games. Against Buffalo, Tagovailoa led Miami’s offense on its longest drive since 2018 — a 14-play, 97-yard drive that was capped off by a 14-yard touchdown pass to RB De’Von Achane.

Rams player to watch: DT Braden Fiske had two sacks of the Seahawks’ Geno Smith, and the rookie from Florida State also had two tackles for loss in a dominant showing. The Rams drafted Fiske with the hope he could replace some of the interior disruption Aaron Donald provided for so many years, and Fiske is starting to grow into that role with three sacks and four tackles for loss in his past five games.

Key matchup: Rams WR Cooper Kupp vs. Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey. They were teammates in Los Angeles for four seasons, and now their practice field battles will translate to game day. Kupp led the way with 11 receptions for 104 yards in a win at Seattle, giving him 16 catches, 155 yards and a touchdown in two games since returning from an ankle injury. Ramsey had his first interception of the season in the loss to Buffalo and generally smothered whichever Bills receiver he was guarding.

Series notes: The Rams have lost five straight games to the Dolphins, with their most recent win coming in 2001 when they were in St. Louis. That was also their only home victory over Miami.

— Associated Press

Patriots (2-7) at bears (4-4)

When: 1 p.m. today

TV: Fox

BetMGM NFL odds: Bears by 6 1/2

Series record: Patriots lead 10-5.

Last meeting: Bears beat Patriots 33-14 in Foxborough, Mass., on Oct. 24, 2022.

Last week: Patriots lost 20-17 in overtime at Tennessee; Bears lost 29-9 at Arizona.

Key matchup: Caleb Williams vs. Drake Maye. Williams finds himself going against another top quarterback from this year’s draft class for the second time in three games, after Jayden Daniels led Washington to a win on a Hail Mary pass two weeks ago. The No. 1 overall draft pick has cooled off following a hot stretch, with a 65.4 passer rating and 49.2% completion rate (32 of 65) the past two games. In the four games prior to that, he threw for nine touchdowns and three interceptions. While Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick, is leading a resurgence in Washington, the transition to the NFL has not been as smooth for Williams and Maye.

Series notes: The Bears had lost five straight and eight of nine to the Patriots since a Super Bowl 20 victory, prior to the win in Week 7 two years ago. Justin Fields threw for a touchdown and ran for a score, helping Chicago stop a three-game losing streak. The Bears then lost their final 10 games to finish a league-worst 3-14 in their first season under general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus, trading DE Robert Quinn two days after that win and LB Roquan Smith the following week.

Stats & stuff: New England is tied with six teams for the NFL’s worst record at 2-7. ... Maye’s 95 yards rushing last week were third most for a QB in team history, but outside of their quarterback, the Patriots totaled 15 yards on 12 carries. ... CB Marcus Jones has been making an impact on special teams, returning a punt 44 yards last week after running one back 62 yards the previous game against the New York Jets. ... Chicago’s wins are against teams with a combined 10-24 record — Tennessee (2-6), the Los Angeles Rams (4-4), Carolina (2-7) and Jacksonville (2-7). ... The Bears are 4-0 in home games, counting a win over Jacksonville in London. ... Chicago is tied for fourth in the NFL with 15 takeaways. ... The Bears gave up 213 yards rushing last week, the most they’ve allowed since Detroit ran for 265 on Jan. 1, 2023. ... Rookie WR Rome Odunze caught five passes for 104 yards — his second 100-yard game. The No. 9 pick had 112 yards in a Week 3 loss at Indianapolis. ... TE Cole Kmet wasn’t targeted last week and had just one pass thrown his way — a 14-yard reception — in the previous game at Washington. The veteran has 303 yards and three touchdowns. ... K Cairo Santos is tied for third in the NFL with six field goals of 50 yards or more. ... Rookie Tory Taylor has a 49.1-yard gross punting average — the highest single-season mark in franchise history.

steelers (6-2) at commanders (7-2)

When: 1 p.m. today

TV: CBS

BetMGM NFL odds: Commanders by 3

Series record: Washington leads 43-33-3.

Last meeting: Washington beat the Steelers 23-17 on Dec. 7, 2020 at Pittsburgh.

Last week: Steelers had bye, before that beat the Giants 26-18 on Oct. 28; Commanders beat the Giants 27-22.

Key matchup: Steelers LB T.J. Watt vs. Commanders O-line. The three-time NFL sack champion has gotten to the quarterback just 6 1/2 times through his first eight games, a modest pace for the perennial All-Pro. Yet with Alex Highsmith fully healthy after missing three games with a groin injury, backup Nick Herbig potentially available after a hamstring issue and veteran Preston Smith arriving in a trade with Green Bay, Watt in theory could get a little more rest on early downs, freeing him for more pass-specific situations.

Series notes: Pittsburgh is playing at Washington for the first time since 2016. ... The Steelers have won the past six meetings with fans in the stands. ... This is the teams’ 80th game in a series that dates to 1933 when Pittsburgh was known as the Pirates. ... The Steelers and Commanders are two of the five teams with more runs than passes this season.

Stats & stuff: The Steelers are off to their best start since winning their first 11 games in 2020, a streak that ended with a home loss to Washington. ... Washington is off to its best nine-game start since 1996. The team is looking for its first 8-2 start since 1986. Washington hasn’t opened 5-0 at home since 1991, which is also the organization’s most recent Super Bowl season.

titans (2-6) at Chargers (5-3)

When: 4:05 p.m. today

TV: Fox

BetMGM NFL odds: Chargers by 7 1/2

Series record: Chargers lead 29-19-1.

Last meeting: Titans beat Chargers 27-24 in Nashville on Sept. 17, 2023.

Last week: Titans beat Patriots 20-17, OT; Chargers beat the Browns 27-10 in Cleveland.

Key matchup: Titans offensive coordinator Nick Holz vs. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman. It’s going to be tough sledding for both offenses. The Titans may be the NFL’s stingiest defense when it comes to yards allowed per game. The Chargers lead the league where it matters most, allowing 12.6 points per game, which are the fewest this season. That means the pressure will be on Holz and Roman to maximize whatever scoring opportunities come along, as the difference between a touchdown and a field goal will be immense taking into account the quality of the opposition. Roman’s unit has performed better of late, getting a season-high 27 points on Sunday. The Titans have scored at least 20 only twice this season and needed OT to reach 20 last week.

Series notes: This will be the 50th game between these charter members of the American Football League. But the now Titans have not won on the road against the Chargers since 1990 when they were the Houston Oilers. They lost nine straight to the Chargers between 1993 and 2012. The Titans couldn’t beat the Chargers even in London in 2018. But the Titans have won two of the past three — both victories in Nashville.

eagles (6-2) at cowboys (3-5)

When: 4:25 p.m. today

TV: CBS

BetMGM NFL odds: Eagles by 7 1/2

Series record: Cowboys lead 74-56.

Last meeting: Cowboys beat Eagles 33-13 on Dec. 10, 2023, in Arlington, Texas.

Last week: Eagles beat Jaguars 28-23; Cowboys lost to Falcons 27-21.

Key matchup: It looks as if star pass rusher Micah Parsons will return for the Cowboys after missing four games with a high ankle sprain. If he does, it’ll be a juicy matchup with Barkley. The two are close off the field because both went to Penn State. Parsons says Barkley is one of the reasons he chose the Nittany Lions. The Cowboys will mostly be interested in Parsons helping pressure QB Jalen Hurts, but the two-time All-Pro’s speed should help in trying to slow Barkley.

Series notes: The Cowboys have won six consecutive home games against the Eagles, their second-longest active streak behind a seven-game run against the Giants. Dallas has averaged 38 points per game in the past five victories at AT&T Stadium.

Stats and stuff: The Cowboys are on their first three-game losing streak since 2020, when Prescott missed the final 11 games with a broken ankle. Dallas lost the first four games after Prescott’s injury. ... Philadelphia has won four games in a row and is one of four teams with a winning streak at least that long in every season since 2021, when coach Nick Sirianni was hired. ... Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle was the closest thing to a lead back for Dallas this season against Atlanta. The numbers were good, with 75 yards rushing on 12 carries for a season-best 6.3-yard average and his third receiving TD this year.

Jets (3-6) at Cardinals (5-4)

When: 4:25 p.m. today

TV: CBS

BetMGM NFL odds: Cardinals by 1

Series record: Jets lead 6-4.

Last meeting: Cardinals won 30-10 at New York on Oct. 11, 2020.

Last week: Jets beat Texans 21-13; Cardinals beat Bears 29-9.

Key matchup: QB Kyler Murray vs. the Jets defense. Murray has been excellent through the season’s first half, ranking No. 5 in quarterback ranking, sandwiched between Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes. He’ll go against a Jets defense that has been one of the best in the league, particularly against the pass.

Series notes: The two teams have played every four years since 2004. The Cardinals have won the previous two matchups, while the Jets were victorious in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 games.

Stats & stuff: New York snapped a five-game skid with a win over Houston, giving interim coach Jeff Ulbrich his first victory in four games (1-3) since replacing the fired Robert Saleh. … Rodgers has five TD passes and no INTs in his past two games. His three TD tosses last week against the Texans were his most with the Jets. … Rodgers hasn’t passed for 300 yards since throwing for 341 against Chicago on Dec. 12, 2021 — a span of 31 regular-season games and 32 overall, including one playoff game. ... The Cardinals are trying for a four-game winning streak for the first time since 2021. ... Arizona hasn’t allowed a touchdown in each of its past two home games. ... The Cardinals defense had 16 different players get a pressure on Bears QB Caleb Williams last week. That’s the most for an NFL team since 2018.