The Lions enter Week 8 in desperate need of a win. Detroit dropped to 1-5 with a punchless loss in Dallas a week ago, draining any potential momentum boost to be gained from the Week 6 bye.
Now the Miami Dolphins come to Ford Field for Sunday’s interconference matchup. It’s a game the Lions can absolutely win despite the disparity in records and the visitors from Miami currently installed as a 3.5-point favorite. For the Lions to pull off the mild upset win, they need a few key components to step up.
Last week’s predictions proved prescient, though not necessarily positive. Three of the four named did have good games but Jared Goff’s bad day scuttled any chance for the win.
4 Lions who must have good games vs. Dallas in Week 7
Goff is a repeat performer on the list for Week 8, but in a bit of a different context. He’s joined by three other Lions who all need to have good days on Sunday for the team to have a realistic shot at beating the 4-3 Dolphins.
Malcolm Rodriguez
“Rodrigo” has played relatively well as a starting linebacker for the Lions, but the sixth-round rookie needs to amp it up a notch against the Dolphins.
Rodriguez was quiet against Dallas, registering just three tackles and not closing into holes with as much authority as he’d done earlier in the season. The Dolphins represent a great chance for a rebound game for Rodriguez.
Why?
Simple: Miami’s run offense is one of the worst in the league. It’s a straightforward blocking scheme behind a line that isn’t great and doesn’t feature a dynamic running threat. Top RB Raheem Mostert accelerates well and can break through arm tackles, which means Rodriguez has to react quickly and square him up. That’s how Rodriguez’s bread gets buttered, but the Lions cannot afford him to get toasted, not even once.
Last week the Lions could devote extra defensive backs to stopping the run because Dallas’ wide receivers didn’t really threaten Detroit. That’s not the case with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle for the Dolphins. Those plays Jeff Okudah was making between the tackles and just outside the box last week are plays that Rodriguez — and LB mate Alex Anzalone — have to make on their own against Miami.
Jared Goff
As we saw last week in Dallas, the Lions don’t really have any chance to win if Goff plays poorly and turns the ball over four times on his own. That’s true for just about every team, of course.
Miami is a peculiar opponent on the takeaway front. They have seven on the season, but those came in just three games. The Dolphins forced three in Week 1 and three more last week in their 16-10 win over Pittsburgh, capped by an athletic interception from CB Noah Igbinoghene off Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett on a terrible decision in crunch time.
In Miami’s five games in between those two prolific ones, the Dolphins created just one takeaway. They’re not a team that racks up sacks or pressures consistently; Miami’s sack percentage ranks 24th, barely above the Lions in 26th.
Goff has to avoid the game-altering mistakes that plagued him in Dallas, and in New England in the Lions’ prior game. Yet he has to manage to do it without sacrificing his confidence in attacking Miami’s defense down the field. Getting Amon-Ra St. Brown and D’Andre Swift back helps bolster the weaponry at Goff’s disposal, and that tends to bring out the better Goff. You know, the Goff who led the Lions to leading the league in scoring through the first four weeks.
If that Goff shows up against Miami, these Lions can absolutely outscore the Dolphins. If we get the disappointing Goff from the last two games, it’s going to require an unprecedented amount of luck for Detroit to overcome poor quarterbacking three weeks in a row and snatch a win.
DeShon Elliott and Kerby Joseph
Yes, it’s two players in one listing. The starting safeties are too important to isolate just one of them.
It’s simple: Miami’s offense is reliant upon big plays in the passing game. The Dolphins have two of the fastest receivers in the league in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, as well as a dangerously athletic tight end in Mike Gesicki. Teams that have relied upon single coverage on the outside have learned the hard way that Hill and Waddle are too much, and QB Tua Tagovailoa is more than happy to check down to Gesicki when they’re taken out of the game.
Elliott typically handles the coverage closer to the line, which means Gesicki and the RBs out of the backfield. Joseph, the Lions’ third-round rookie, has shown quick growth in downfield coverage. He’s graded out very well in coverage at Pro Football Focus and it passes the eye test, too. But Joseph has not faced game-changing speed like what Hill and Waddle offer individually–let alone together on opposite sides of the formation.
A strong pass rush would help out the safeties, but they cannot rely upon it. Elliott and Joseph must be alert and take advantage of opportunities to make plays. Tagovailoa isn’t afraid to take deep shots even though his arm strength is average on his best day. An interception from Joseph or a rangy PD from Elliott on a third down would go a long way to helping the Lions defense continue its growth and hopefully secure a win.
Dan Campbell
What constitutes a good game from Campbell as the Lions’ head coach?
- Designing an opponent-specific gameplan on both sides of the ball. Campbell focused on the offense early in the season and it played well. When he switched to being more involved on the defense, that unit perked up nicely. Get both units to play well at the same time, coach!
- Proper clock management around the ends of halves.
- Less emotionally-tinged decisions to go for it on 4th downs. Campbell is often guilty of trying to correct the last wrong by rolling even bigger dice, and in 23 games that’s proven to just not work well for the head coach.
- Keeping his players from getting down in adverse times. It’s something Campbell preaches Monday through Saturday but has struggled with on Sundays. His Lions have not done that well, with very limited exceptions.
