Lion Tamers

By : Mike Rifkin

The Miami Dolphins were down 27-17 at Halftime on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. The Dolphins outscored the Lions 14-0 in the second half to win 31-27 to improve to 5-3 on the season. 

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was 29-36 for 382 yards and three touchdowns. Tua became the first quarterback in Dolphins history to have 350+ yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions while completing 80% of his passes in a game. Tua now leads the NFL with a 112.1 passer rating and the Dolphins are 5-0 in games Tua plays the whole game. Sunday’s game is the reason the Dolphins acquired Tyreek Hill from the Chiefs. Hill, had 12 catches for 188 yards and averaged 15.7 yards per reception. Jaylen Waddle had eight catches for 106 yards, averaged 13.3 yards per reception and two touchdowns. Hill and Waddle have set a Super Bowl Era record with 1,688 yards combined through the team’s first eight games of  the season.  Lions Coach Dan Campbell said postgame “We couldn’t stop their receivers. We didn’t hit them at the line, and that was part of the game plan. We didn’t want to turn it into a track meet, and it was a track meet.”

The Lions scored on all five of their first half possessions, but were held scoreless in the second half. A key play late in the first half was when Jared Goff threw a pass to Josh Reynolds in the end zone, but Reynolds dropped it and Detroit had to settle for a field goal. Goff was 27-37 for 321 yards and a touchdown. Running Back D’Andre Swift returned to the lineup and had 10 touches for 33 yards and a touchdown, while Jamaal Williams had two rushing touchdowns for Detroit. 

The Dolphins tour of the NFC North continues next week when they visit the Bears while the Lions who fell to 1-6 after this loss will host the reeling Green Bay Packers.