Ball-control passing (hello, Dane Looker) and more hard running by Steven Jackson and Antonio Pittman got the Rams rolling into Miami territory again.

(Give a shout-out to center Brett Romberg, by the way. He is having a nice game at center. The Rams are getting along OK without Nick Leckey.)

After passes to tight end Joe Klopfenstein (didn’t get open) and Pittman (let ball carom off his hands) didn’t work, Bulger found Torry Holt for the needed first down.

On third-and-5 at the Dolphins 15, Bulger went to Anthony Becht, of all people, with a sideline pass attempt. The Dolphins covered up Becht, against all odds, so the Rams settled for still another Josh Brown field goal (from 33 yards this time) and a 9-7 lead.

The Dolphins took over on their 24-yard line with 1:44 left in the half.  This wasn’t an ideal spot for game manager Chad Pennington, but he immediately took off on a 16-yard scramble.

That’s something you don’t see every game, eh?

On third-and-2 at their 48, the Dolphins showed run . . . and then went upstairs with a 21-yard pass to Davone Bess to move into scoring range.

Ricky Williams plowed 10 yards to the Rams 14. A subsequent holding penalty moved them back to the 24, but the Dolphins kept coming.

Bess let a would-be TD catch slip through his hands, though, so Miami had to call in Dan Carpenter to kick a 37-yard field goal.

He nailed it, giving Miami a 10-9 halftime lead. After their 205-yard offensive first half, we’re guessing the Dolphins wanted more than a one-point advantage.