It had been an emotional week for the Detroit Lions. A week after losing Jack Campbell, one of the heartbeats of the team, to a serious injury, Detroit not only had to weather his absence on the field but off it as well.
It was far from Detroit’s best game, but they will leave Miami with a win. The Dolphins did an admirable job silencing the Lions offense, but their own offensive deficiencies did little to threaten the Lions defense. That resulted in a game with a fair number of field goals, punts,
and even a fake punt from each team. Detroit was the only team to find the end zone, but that was all it took to close out this game.
Which players emerged from this tilt as a winner or loser?
Winner: Aidan Hutchinson, DE
If NFL officiating was consistent and accurate, Hutchinson might have set an NFL record for holding penalties drawn in a game. The Lions’ star pass rusher was a menace on Sunday, bringing more heat than Miami’s basketball team. He ended the game with just two tackles and a quarterback hit, but that does not tell the whole story. On every drive and nearly every snap, Hutchinson was bullying his opposition, whether it was right tackle Austin Jackson, left tackle Patrick Paul, or whoever was unfortunate enough to line up across from him.
Officially, Hutchinson drew two holding penalties (one on Jackson, one on tight end Will Kacmarek), but there were at least a half dozen uncalled holds. The most egregious one came late in the second quarter, as Jackson essentially horse-collar tackled Hutchinson. The Dolphins wound up missing their end-of-half field goal attempt, so that was karmic retribution.
Hutchinson is a consistent contributor on defense, but he has the occasional game where he goes supernova. This was one of those outings.
Losers: Tate Ratledge, Miles Frazier, Blake Miller, Christian Mahogany, Hank Fraley, OL
Jared Goff was in hell against the Dolphins pass rush, and the performance of these three players was a large reason why. The right side of the offensive line was under siege all day long. Ratledge allowed a sack on the second offensive drive, forcing a punt. Miller fought a losing battle against Chop Robinson out at right tackle. Though Miller was not credited with a sack allowed, he was responsible for the hit on Goff that led to his interception—on that same play, Ratledge was bulldozed by Zach Sieler. Miller was also flagged for a hold halfway through the fourth quarter.
The shock of the day was the benching of Christian Mahogany for Frazier at left guard. Mahogany had been playing at a high level next to Penei Sewell across six games, yet the Lions coaching staff made him ride the pine against Miami. Frazier gave up a sack on the first drive, then committed a holding penalty on the third drive. Later in the second half, Frazier got blown up on a rushing play, leading to a 3-yard loss. In the third quarter, another immediate pressure from Frazier forced a rushed throw and resulted in yet another field goal.
Frazier was struggling immensely against the Dolphins, yet the Lions did not substitute Mahogany back into the lineup. The benching was disciplinary in nature, per Dan Campbell, so Mahogany certainly deserves blame, yet at a certain point, you are trying to win football games—benching one of your best linemen for an entire game is a massive risk, even if it sends a message. Not only does the offense suffer, but you also subject Jared Goff to multiple hits. However, you have to trust that the team made this decision knowing the consequences. That ultimately reflects poorly on Mahogany. He was not in the locker room when the media arrived to further explain what happened.
A lot of these offensive line’s struggles fall on offensive line coach Hank Fraley. The decision to sit Mahogany does not happen without his approval. The struggles of so many offensive linemen under his watch shows a lack of preparation and/or execution for the week. Things settled down for the offensive line in the second half, but you have to wonder if that was more of an adjustment from Drew Petzing than improvement from the offensive line. A performance like this is simply inexcusable going forward. Hopefully the same can be said about whatever Mahogany did to warrant the benching.
Winner: Malcolm Rodriguez, LB
With Jack Campbell’s injury, there was a notable question about how to fill his shoes. Derrick Barnes donned the green dot, but since coverage is not his forte, the Lions needed another linebacker to help man the middle. That wound up being Rodriguez, his first true starting assignment since Week 18 of last season. Whereas Rodriguez struggled in 2025 as he returned from his ACL injury, he has turned things around in 2026 in a rotational role. That high level of play continued on Sunday.
Rodriguez was on the field for nearly every defensive snap (55 out of 57) and looked solid in every facet. In run defense, he was stout, registering four run stops per PFF, three of which came in the first half alone. He wound up leading the team in tackles, and he passed the eye test—he was a football-seeking missile. In coverage, he was solid as well, as Miami got minimal production from their running backs and tight ends downfield. He also broke up a pass to Kacmarek in the fourth quarter that should have forced a punt, except the Dolphins got tricky a threw a fake punt of their own.
It was nice to see success over a small sample size translate into a full-game performance for Rodriguez.
Winner: Derrick Moore, DE
The rookie had been a rotational piece early in his career, but with the injury to DJ Wonnum, Moore was presented with a significant opportunity. Rookies Blake Miller, Skyler Gill-Howard, Keith Abney, and Jimmy Rolder (before his injury) each had their moments in the spotlight this season, but Moore had yet to receive his moment in the spotlight. That changed against Miami.
Moore’s outing was not as dominant as Hutchinson’s, but he provided some much-needed pressure off the edge. The impressive part of his game was his hustle, evident on his first-career sack:
Sure, a healthy Willis likely makes the corner, but you still have to credit Moore for pursuing Willis halfway across the field and not letting the quarterback slip by. Moore would add a second sack late in the fourth quarter to help stall a Dolphins comeback attempt. Encouragingly, Moore looked capable in run defense as well—being able to contribute in both run and pass defense was a big part of Wonnum’s game, so getting this kind of production out of the rookie was nice to see.
Winner: Chuck Clark, S
I have been tough on Clark this season, but he deserves flowers for this performance. The interception was a beauty, jumping a Malik Willis deep shot (without drawing pass interference as well) then weaving his way downfield for a 34-yard return deep into Dolphins territory. Perhaps more encouraging than his interception was his coverage in general. Whereas in previous weeks he looked slow or out of place, he was on the ball often on Sunday. He finished the game with five tackles and a pass defended. Best of all, he avoided being on the wrong side of explosive plays.
Winner: Kelvin Sheppard, DC
I had given Sheppard small praises in recent weeks, but I officially have to give him a full write-up. After a brutal start to the season, Sheppard’s defense is now humming, despite a multitude of injuries at key positions. Over the four games, the Lions have allowed 21 points, 17 points, 15 points, and now 9 points. Sure, the Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, and Miami Dolphins are not potent offenses, but neither were the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 and New York Jets in Week 3. All you can do is play your opponent, and Sheppard’s defense is a key reason why Detroit has won four in a row.
During the previous three games, the offense did not exceed 20 points scored. In close games like those, one bad defensive drive can cost you a win. That has not happened over the last month. The pass rush has improved and become more consistent. The secondary is minimizing their miscommunications. The scheme finally looks competent and complementary to their talent.
Loser: Red zone offense
This is more of a nebulous “loser” than a singular person. It falls on Jared Goff, it falls on Drew Petzing, it falls on the weapons, and it falls on the offensive line.
Jake Bates kicked four field goals on the day, only the fifth time in his career he had attempted that many kicks. In three of those five games, Bates had attempted a kick from beyond 50-yards—in those cases, the field goal attempt was a chance to salvage points, not settling for easy ones. Against the Dolphins, however, Bates had kicks of the following distances: 43 yards, 33 yards, 40 yards, and 28 yards. Those short kicks illustrate one thing: the offense was driving downfield but failing to finish.
Gibbs managed to get into the end zone on an 8-yard scamper, but as a whole, Detroit uncharacteristically left a lot of points off the board. It’s difficult to pinpoint why Detroit was struggling so much in that regard. The run game was below their normal standard (28 carries for 102 yards, an average of 3.6 yards per attempt). As mentioned, the offensive line was getting beat too often. Perhaps some of their red zone targets were not getting open—Sam LaPorta and Isaac TeSlaa were held to just five catches for 41 yards across the entire game. Maybe Petzing was simply not dialing up successful plays deep in enemy territory.
All I know is that the Lions cannot afford to settle for field goals this often. Against a better opponent, perhaps the Lions go for it more often, but that is still a position the Lions should not be in.
Quick hits:
Winner: Penei Sewell, OT
On a day where the offensive line was getting rocked, Sewell held strong. Having an asset like him on the offensive line is such a benefit to the offense: rain or shine, you can lean on Sewell.
Winners: Tyleik Williams and Alim McNeill, DTs
These two continue to be a terrific tandem. Williams drew a holding call early in the game, while McNeill added a sack in the fourth quarter.
Loser: Jameson Williams, WR
Williams’ only catch, a 31-yarder, sparked the Lions’ lone touchdown drive, but you’d like to see more from him against an opponent like Miami. His only other target was a tough catch but one he should make often than not.
Winner: Rock Ya-Sin, CB
With D.J. Reed out, Ya-Sin saw a sizeable number of snaps and looked solid while doing so. On initial viewing, nothing stood out as negative from his game. A much-needed rebound after getting benched early in the season.
Loser: Keith Abney, DB
Abney is more of a loser by circumstance than performance. Over Detroit’s previous three games, Abney had been heavily involved in the safety rotation. Against Miami, however, his snap count dropped to just six. With a lot of Brian Branch, Chuck Clark, and at least two linebackers, there was not a lot of room for Abney on the field.
Winner: Jack Fox, P
He might throw a better spiral than any quarterback on the Minnesota Vikings roster.
Winner: Dan Campbell, HC
Statistically, it was a below-average game from the Lions, but given the lead up to the week, you have to credit Campbell for being a leader and keeping the team grounded and motivated.
