The Miami Dolphins’ Week 9 schedule brought the NFL’s top-ranked offense to Hard Rock Stadium as the Detroit Lions came to South Florida. It was a tough matchup for a 1-6 team still trying to grow and develop with a roster full of rookies, but the Dolphins stood up and fought for all 60 minutes.
Detroit put the game away late, but with the over/under set at 50.5 points for the day, a combined 28-point total reflects strong defensive play from both teams.
Final Score
Lions 19 – 9 Dolphins
Immediate Reactions
Snap Winners and Losers
Winners
Jeff Hafley, head coach
The Dolphins defense showed up to play in this
game. Hafley, the former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator, clearly brought that experience to Miami and used it against the Lions today. The defense was ready to face the number one offense in the league and they did well for much of the game. They allowed one touchdown drive in the second half with a couple of big plays, but for the most part, Hafley’s defense was ready and executed well.
Chop Robinson, edge
Early in the season, frustration over Robinson’s lack of production was growing. Over the past few weeks, he put that behind him, and on Sunday, he was a force throughout the game.
Josh Uche, edge
Continuing with the defensive theme, Uche was disruptive throughout the game as well. Uche set the tone early, disrupting the run, setting the edge, deflecting the pass that led to a Chris Johnson interception. and getting a sack. He was a factor in the game, even if things fell off a little in the second half.
Caleb Douglas, wide receiver
Douglas dropped a late fourth-down attempt that would have given Miami a first down as they tried to come back, but aside from that, the rookie receiver had a day. He finished the game with six receptions for 70 yards.
Losers
Note: “Losers” is not a judgment on the talent or character of any individual. It is simply a categorization of the play in one game – no disrespect is intended or should be inferred
Bradley Pinion, punter
The Dolphins’ punter has struggled this year, especially in terms of consistency. Also serving as the kickoff specialist, Pinion was flagged on the opening kickoff for failing to get the ball into the landing zone. In the second quarter, he shanked a punt for just 25 yards. It was not a banner day for the Dolphins’ punter. Pinion did have a 46-yard pass to running back Kaytron Allen on a fake punt, which nearly pushed him off this list, but the season-long inconsistency keeps him here.
Penalties
So many flags were thrown against the Dolphins this week, especially against the offensive line. Counting declined penalties, Miami was flagged 12 times in the game. It feels more like a rookies trying too hard more than an issue of players not paying attention.
Chris Bell, wide receiver
Rookie receiver Chris Bell was just non-existent on Sunday. He was targeted one time and recorded no receptions. While Douglas continues to break out, Bell is struggling to produce. The potential is still there, and he will break out at some point, but right now, he is a complete afterthought for the offense.
Other thoughts
Dan Campbell comes home and brings others with him
Lions head coach Dan Campbell’s first coaching job was with the Dolphins, starting as an intern, then as the tight ends coach, and ending as the team’s interim head coach after Joe Philbin was fired. Campbell showed flashes of what he would become as a head coach, but he was not yet ready to get the job full time. There was definitely temptation there.
Campbell instead went to the New Orleans Saints as their tight ends and assistant head coach. Campbell moved to the Lions in 2021 and has worked therm through a rebuild into a team that should be a contender for a deep run in the NFC playoffs. After Campbell’s interim stint, Miami hired Adam Gase, then Brian Flores, then Mike McDaniel, and now Jeff Hafley.
The Lions coaching staff also includes defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers, and outside linebackers coach David Carrao – all of whom were Dolphins players or coaches.
Malik Willis’s groin injury a factor
Willis is clearly bothered by the groin injury that has been on the injury report for the last couple of weeks. He just doesn’t have the same mobility we have seen from him before. He tried a couple of times to run away from pressure, but he just didn’t have the speed to get going. He showed solid understanding of the situation and threw the ball away at times, but the lack of scrambling ability was very noticeable in the game.
Teams continue to forget to be special
Pinion’s struggles (and the fake punt) were mentioned above, but overall, the Dolphins’ special teams still aren’t special. They gave up a fake punt, Zane Gonzalez blasted the upright on a field goal attempt to end the half, and overall, it feels like Miami cannot trust their special teams this year.
