Another strong start by the Detroit Lions gave the Ford Field fans some nice treats early, but the Miami Dolphins quickly turned the game on the day before Halloween into yet another horror movie.
Bad Defense in Detroit: The Sequel
Buy Lions WireIf you like good defense, this was not the game for you. Especially for the home team. The Lions defense did not force a Miami punt until the fourth quarter. After creating a takeaway — a great forced fumble by rookie S Kerby Joseph — on the opening drive, the Dolphins scored touchdowns on four of the next five drives. The only interruption was a Miami field goal.
The Lions defense did eventually force a punt, but it was too little, too late. On Miami’s final drive, when the outcome was still in doubt, QB Tua Tagovailoa had no problem engineering a game-sealing series of first downs. Tagovailoa finished 29-of-36 for 382 passing yards and three TDs for Miami.
Detroit did lead for almost half the game, but the combination of the leaky defense and a stark decline by the offense after halftime led to the Lions demise. Plays that worked sweetly in the first half turned into lumps of coal in the candy bag after the half. Detroit’s first two drives of the second half produced net negative yardage thanks to penalties.
Thanks to some awful defense on Miami’s part, with no small assistance from 12 Dolphins pre-snap penalties in the game, the Lions still had a chance to rise from the grave and scare up a win. Jared Goff’s fluttering 4th-and-2 deep shot to Josh Reynolds didn’t stand a ghost of a chance, however, and the Lions’ last chance to eke out a win died on the turf.
There were indeed some bright spots. The Lions offense dominated early on, scoring touchdowns on three straight drives to start the game. Ben Johnson’s unit followed that up with two dead solid perfect field goals from freshly signed kicker Michael Badgley to lead 27-17 at the half.
As happens far too much for the Lions, hope died at halftime.
The Lions dig their playoff grave deeper, now 1-6 on the season. Miami survives the scare and goes back home with a 5-3 record.
