The Miami Dolphins entered Week 9 looking to get back on track after their loss to the New England Patriots last week. Instead, they walked away from Hard Rock Stadium with another frustrating loss — falling 19-9 to the visiting Detroit Lions.
There were certainly some positives to take away from Sunday’s performance, particularly on the defensive side of the football. Unfortunately, the offense once again struggled to find its footing, and a seemingly endless parade of yellow laundry made an already
daunting task feel even harder.
Let’s take a look at the good, bad, and ugly from Miami’s Week 9 loss to Detroit.
GOOD
Miami’s defense gives high-flying Lions offense fits
If there was one reason for Dolphins fans to feel good about Sunday’s performance, it was the team’s defensive effort against one of the NFL’s most dangerous offenses.
Detroit came into this matchup with an offense capable of putting a lot of points on the board in a hurry. With Jared Goff under center and weapons like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, and Jahmyr Gibbs at their disposal, the Lions have enough firepower to make even good defenses look silly.
The Dolphins held the Lions to just 19 points — tied for Detroit’s lowest point total in a single game this season —limiting Goff to 170 passing yards, and keeping the Lions out of the end zone for nearly three quarters. Goff finished 17 of 25 with no touchdown passes and an interception. Detroit’s only touchdown came on an eight-yard Jahmyr Gibbs run late in the third quarter. Outside of that, the Lions were forced to rely on Jake Bates, who connected on four field goals.
Miami’s pass rush was on point against the Lions. They managed to sack Goff three times, with Joshua Uche, Zeek Biggers, and Jacob Rodriguez contributing to the damage.
The secondary deserves some recognition too. Rookie cornerback Chris Johnson came up with an interception in the first quarter, returning it 21 yards and giving Miami an opportunity to take control of the game. It was his first interception as a professional.
Holding an offense with this much talent to just one touchdown is no small accomplishment. Unfortunately, the Dolphins’ offense decided that playing complementary football wasn’t on the docket for the day.
BAD
Miami’s offense doesn’t take advantage of juicy matchup
The Dolphins managed just nine points against a poor Lions defense on Sunday.
Malik Willis completed 13 of 25 passes for 128 yards, threw an interception, and finished with a disappointing 50.1 passer rating against a team allowing 276.6 passing yards per game heading into Sunday — worst in the NFL. Miami also failed to move the ball well on the ground — finishing with just 77 rushing yards on 21 carries.
Miami went 4 for 12 on third downs and failed to score a touchdown on all three of their trips to the red zone. When you can’t convert third downs, can’t consistently run the football, and can’t finish drives inside the 20, you’re going to have a difficult time winning football games.
Rookie receiver Caleb Douglas provided one of the few bright spots on offense, hauling in six receptions for 70 yards — but even he had a key drop on a late game fourth down play.
However, the Dolphins’ best offensive highlight might have actually come from punter Bradley Pinion, who completed a 46-yard pass to rookie Kaytron Allen on a fake punt in the fourth quarter.
Perhaps offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik should consider giving Pinion a few more snaps.
I kid. I think…
UGLY
Penalties piled up for Dolphins against Lions
Eleven penalties for 87 yards. That’s what Miami had against Detroit on Sunday.
That’s an entire afternoon of self-inflicted wounds, and several of them came at particularly costly moments.
Miami’s offensive penalties were especially frustrating because they repeatedly erased positive plays and put the offense behind the chains.
One of the more damaging examples came immediately after Chris Johnson intercepted Goff in the first quarter. Miami had just received a gift from its defense and had an opportunity to turn that takeaway into points. Instead, the offense was immediately pushed backward by a holding call.
Another holding penalty wiped out a long bomb from Willis to rookie Kevin Coleman Jr., taking away a much-needed explosive play and forcing Miami to move backwards.
By halftime, Miami had already been penalized seven times!
The Dolphins’ 11 penalties included five holding calls. When your offense is already struggling to generate yards and sustain drives, repeatedly moving backward because of penalties is a recipe for disaster.
It’s difficult enough to beat a team like Detroit when everything is going right. Asking an offense that can’t consistently move the football to overcome penalty after penalty is an entirely different challenge.
The Dolphins didn’t need any additional help making life difficult for themselves. Unfortunately, they provided plenty.
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The Dolphins played tough on defense, but fell flat on offense against Detroit. The loss drops the team’s record to 1-7 on the year. Do you think they can get back on the right side of the scoreboard with a victory against the struggling Indianapolis Colts next week? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13. Fins up.
