The Detroit Lions earned their sixth win of the season on Sunday, downing the Miami Dolphins 19-9 at Hard Rock Stadium. ESPN's Week 9 analysis of all 32 teams raised a compelling question about the Lions' defense.
ESPN asks if the Lions' defense gone from a weakness to a strength?
Sure, the past two offenses they've faced -- Minnesota and Miami -- were the 26th and 31st scoring offenses entering Week 9, respectively, but the unit has now stacked four solid performances in a row. Through the first four weeks, Detroit's defense was second-to-last in points allowed (31.8). Since then -- in wins against the Cardinals, Packers, Vikings and Dolphins -- they've allowed just 15.5 per game. Given the Lions' normally high-scoring offense had struggled to score
in each of the past two contests, the defensive turnaround couldn't have come at a better time. - ESPN
Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has helped guide the unit to four straight strong performances. Detroit entered Week 9 ranked ninth against the run and limited the Dolphins to less than 80 yards rushing.
While the defense is becoming more steady, the offense has shown concerning tendencies as of late, which ESPN touched on in its trend to watch.
Sunday marked the second straight game in which the Lions failed to score a touchdown in the first half -- their first time doing so in consecutive games since October 2022. Part of the reason for that was quarterback Jared Goff being pressured on 40% of his dropbacks in the opening two quarters. - ESPN
In Week 10, the Lions face off against a New England Patriots (5-4) team that has lost two out of its past three games against NFC North opponents. The matchup in Munich offers another opportunity for Sheppard's defense to continue improving as the season goes on.
New England ranks eighth in total offense (369.4 yards per game), ninth in passing offense (249.6 passing yards per game), and 14th in scoring offense (23.4 points per game).
It also pits the Lions' No. 5 scoring offense (27.8 points per game) up against the Patriots' No. 15 scoring defense (23.0 points allowed per game).
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: ESPN shares takeaways, questions from Lions-Dolphins game
