The Detroit Lions left Miami with a 19-9 win, and the box score tells the story pretty cleanly: the offense never really got rolling, the defense kept the Dolphins in check, and the kicking game carried a heavy load.
Detroit came into Week 9 riding a three-game winning streak, and the expectation was that the offense would have a big day. Instead, the Dolphins defense gave the Lions trouble from start to finish. Even so, 19 points was enough because Detroit’s defense limited Miami to just nine.
One of the biggest pregame surprises came on the offensive line, where Christian Mahogany did not get the start at left guard. He was still active on special teams, so the move was not injury-related. CBS called it a “coaching decision,” and after the game Dan Campbell explained it this way:
“That was team rules (for) Mahogany. It was really that simple,” Campbell said.
“Miles deserved his opportunity, so he got it. Doesn’t mean it stays that way, but that was the way it was going to be today.”
That opened the door for Miles Frazier to make his first career start, and it was a rough one. Detroit’s offensive line had a hard time handling Miami’s front, and Frazier was part of the issue with missed blocks and trouble sustaining his assignments. Right tackle Blake Miller also had his worst game of the season, and the pressure on Jared Goff never really let up.
Goff was sacked three times and threw his second interception of the season after Dolphins EDGE Josh Uche got a hand on him as he released the ball. He was also hit on another throw that was initially ruled a fumble recovered by Miami for a touchdown, but that play was overturned to an incomplete pass. The constant heat made life difficult for the offense all afternoon.
That pressure showed up in the run game, too. Jahmyr Gibbs was held to 74 yards on 20 carries and was the only Lions player to reach the end zone. It was the kind of performance that brings back bad memories of what this offense looks like when the line is struggling, and Detroit will be hoping for better health up front for the trip to Germany next week, with Mahogany and backup center Cade Mays mentioned as potential returns.
Even with the offense sputtering, the Lions got a strong enough showing from their defense to keep the win streak alive. The unit has come a long way after a rough September, when it was a liability. Over the last four games, Detroit has allowed 21 points against the Arizona Cardinals, then 16 to the Green Bay Packers, 15 to the Minnesota Vikings, and nine to the Dolphins.
That stretch has quieted the noise around Kelvin Sheppard. The calls for the defensive coordinator to be fired were loud earlier in the season, but the defense has started to turn things around.
Detroit has also been doing it without several key players, including starting EDGE DJ Wonnum, cornerback D.J. Reed, and linebacker Jack Campbell.
Wonnum and Reed should be back soon, and safety Kerby Joseph is getting closer to returning.
Against Miami, the defense handled its business. Ollie Gordon II was limited to 55 yards on the ground, averaging 3.4 yards per carry.
Malik Willis was under pressure most of the game and was sacked three times, including the first and second sacks of rookie EDGE Derrick Moore’s NFL career. When Willis did have time, the results still weren’t great.
He finished with 128 passing yards and seven rushing yards, and Lions safety Chuck Clark grabbed his second interception of the season.
Miami also did plenty to hurt itself. The Dolphins were flagged for false starts, offensive pass interference, and holding, and those penalties wiped out some of their better moments.
A 50-plus-yard throw by Willis was erased by a holding call, and a few productive runs by Gordon disappeared for the same reason. Miami finished with 11 penalties for 87 yards, and that kind of self-inflicted damage made an already tough game even harder.
Detroit’s points came mostly through Jake Bates, who was perfect on four field goal attempts, with a long of 43 yards. He did miss the landing zone on one kickoff, but otherwise he was the Lions’ most reliable source of scoring. When the offense couldn’t finish drives, Bates kept putting points on the board, and that mattered in a game where every point counted.
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