The Detroit Lions offense has failed to score more than 20 points in three straight weeks, but the defense has led them to victories in all three games.
It was the same story in the Lions’ Week 9 win over the Miami Dolphins. The offense was disjointed and had to overcome poor offensive line play early on. And while they were ultimately able to find some success late, Detroit’s defensive performance is what really stood out.
The Lions held the Dolphins to just 77 yards rushing and 3.7 yards per carry. Miami quarterback Malik Willis only had 128 passing yards. And, more importantly, the Lions completely kept the Dolphins out of the end zone for all four quarters.
It was an inspired performance, especially without the heartbeat of defender, Jack Campbell. The Lions clearly dedicated the match to him, wearing jersey No. 46 upon entering the stadium. And while Campbell promised this week to eventually continue his NFL career, Detroit proved Sunday that they can operate without him for the time being.
Here’s a full recap of the Lions game 19-9 defeat the Dolphins.
The Lions got the ball first and had excellent field position after the kickoff heading into the touchdown zone. Interestingly, it was Miles Frazier at left guard who started the game in place of the (presumably) healthy Christian Mahogany. After picking up 6 yards on the first two plays, Jared Goff and the Lions faced a quick third and 4. Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a nice 16-yard gain between the Dolphins’ zone coverage defenders. Detroit failed to clinch the following third-and-1 when Goff’s arm was hit by Dolphins defender Josh Uche.
That set up a fourth-and-3 at the Dolphins 31-yard line. Detroit went for it and Goff avoided the pressure to find Isaac TeSlaa for 8 to keep the drive alive. Then Jahmyr Gibbs took a wild snap, faked a throw to Goff and took it 16 yards to the Dolphins’ 6-yard line.
But on third down, Goff was sacked by Uche, forcing the Lions to settle for a field goal. 3-0 Lions.
Detroit was able to get a quick three points on defense after two runs went for 0 yards, and Malik Willis’ third pass was too far for his receiver.
But the Lions quickly gave the ball back to Miami. After two successful runs, Goff’s arm was hit again by Uche on a throw, and the ball went straight to Dolphins defensive back Chris Johnson.
Miami got into scoring position with a 20-yard jump grab from Caleb Douglas to the Lions 20-yard line. In the red zone, the Dolphins faced a third-and-11 and tried to catch Detroit sleeping with a draw play. But Aidan Hutchinson whiffed it for a short gain, and the Dolphins settled for a field goal to tie the game. 3-3 tie.
The Lions offense gained just 3 yards on its first two plays to set up a big third-and-7 to start the second quarter.
On the first play, Goff went deep to Jameson Williams, but the receiver threw a very catchable ball and the Lions were forced to punt…. or were they?!? Jack Fox passed to Tay Martin for the fake punt conversion and 11 yards.
Detroit had to dig itself out of the hole, however, as Frazier was called for a holding penalty on the next play. While an 11-yard pass to St. Brown helped, a missed screen set up a third-and-9. And on the play, the Dolphins blitzed aggressively and Miami picked up its third sack of the game. This time, the Lions actually knocked the ball away.
The Dolphins were pinned at their own 5-yard line, but an 11-yard play pass to Greg Dulcich got Miami out of trouble. That said, Hutchinson called a holding penalty that ultimately resulted in a third-and-18 for the Dolphins. Pressure from the Lions forced Willis to throw it away.
Despite a holding penalty given to the Lions on the punt, they still gained excellent field position thanks to a haul from Dolphins punter Bradley Pinion. Detroit started at its own 43-yard line, hoping to put some offensive line issues behind it. The drive started promisingly with an 11-yard pass to Sam LaPorta and a 10-yard run from Gibbs. Two plays later, Goff hit St. Brown for another 14 yards.
However, the drive stopped from there. A toss against Gibbs lost 3 yards. Then another run by Gibbs lost another 3 yards. Goff rushed on third down to make the field goal a little shorter, and Bates drilled a 40-yard field goal to make it happen. 6-3 Lions with 3:30 left in halftime.
Miami responded before the end of the half. A reverse to Kevin Coleman gained 16 yards and put the Dolphins in Lions territory. Ollie Gordon then put Miami within field goal range with a pair of draws from 9 and 11 yards. Eventually, Miami drove to the Lions’ 10-yard line and got a shot into the end zone. But Hutchinson took another penalty, forcing the Dolphins to score a game-tying field goal, but former Lions Zane Gonzalez missed a 38-yard field goal to keep it. 6-3 Lions at halftime.
Miami started with the ball and picked up a quick first down thanks to a pass interference penalty on Derrick Barnes. He made amends with a tackle for loss on the next play, helping set up a third-and-11 for the Dolphins. Willis tried to force a ball into a tight window, but safety Chuck Clark scooped it up and returned it to the Dolphins 26-yard line.
Gibbs gave the Lions another set of downs inside the red zone with a third-and-1 conversion with a 3-yard gain on a toss. However, the Lions had to settle for another field goal when a second try by Gibbs resulted in no gain and Sam LaPorta committed a false start to set up a third-and-11. Goff passed to Gibbs and Bates was good from the 33. 9-3 Lions.
Bates’ ensuing kickoff was well short of the touchdown zone, putting the Dolphins on the 40-yard line. Miami turned that into points. A key play was a third-and-11 pass to Douglas, who ran a 9-yard loop and then evaded an Ennis Rakestraw tackle attempt to get the first down. Detroit took another holding penalty – Skyler Gill-Howard this time. And that forced Miami to settle for another field goal attempt. This time, Gonzalez was good from 52 yards. 9-6 Lions.
Detroit looked to fight back quickly. A 31-yard strike to Jameson Williams immediately put the Lions in field goal position on the first play of the drive.
Goff hit St. Brown for 17 on the next play, putting Detroit in the red zone. The Lions then faced a third-and-1, and the Dolphins dominated Detroit’s play attempt. The Lions obviously went for fourth-and-1, and Detroit threw a well-timed throw to Gibbs, who beat everyone on the outside for an 8-yard touchdown. 16-6 Lions.
Miami faced a third-and-3 early in the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins failed to convert after Malcolm Rodriguez punched the ball on what would have been a first-down converted pass. But Miami had its own fake punt, and it was even more successful than Detroit’s, gaining 46 yards.
Then, on a third-and-5 inside the red zone, Willis found Malik Washington for 7 yards to move the chain. Alim McNeill had a sack to put the Dolphins in a tough third-and-goal situation from the 13.
Derrick Moore chased down Willis on third down, forcing another Dolphins field goal. 16-9 Lions.
Detroit avoided a third-down when an attempt against St. Brown resulted in a 17-yard pass interference penalty. But that would be all the Lions could muster. A holding penalty on Blake Miller put the Lions back, but Detroit got away with a 17-yard St. Brown screen on a third-and-8.
Detroit would go downhill from there, as Goff knocked down St. Brown on third and seven. Bates’ 43-yard field goal was good, to give Detroit a two-point lead with 4:28 to play. 19-9 Lions.
Starting at their own 35-yard line, the Dolphins had to score twice and score quickly. But Detroit’s defensive line took over. Hutchinson forced a sack on first down, Moore got a sack on second down, and on fourth-and-12 the Dolphins gave up a potential conversion. Detroit took over at the Miami 33 with 3:02 left and the game in hand.
The Lions offense was able to pick up a few first downs and bleed the rest of the way to improve to 6-2 on the season halfway through the year.
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