On Sunday, the Detroit Lions wore down and defeated the Miami Dolphins, 19-9. The Lions kept Malik Willis and the young Dolphins in check, advancing to a 6-2 record on the season.

At points, it was not the prettiest game, but the Lions were able to find a way to keep scoring points and keeping Miami out of scoring range.

Here is the good, bad, and ugly from the contest.

The Good

Kicking Game

The Lions needed every one of their four field goals on Sunday, and Jake Bates was perfect on his attempts. It was a game where both defenses were delivering standout performances, and points were at a premium.

Fittingly, Bates, long snapper Hogan Hatten, and the unit were at max efficiency every time they were called upon.

The punting unit was not needed much, as they were not called upon in the second half. However, in two times they were called upon, they delivered. The first punt of the game for Jack Fox was a 54-yarder, and then he used his arm on the next time in punt formation, passing to Tay Martin for a first down on a fake punt.

Kelvin Sheppard and the Defense

Facing a Miami Dolphins offense with Malik Willis limited by a groin injury, the Lions were expected to win. However, Kelvin Sheppard’s defense delivered much more than expected, especially with two starting linebackers and both DJ Reed and DJ Wonnum out.

Sheppard’s unit only allowed nine points, all via a field goal. The longest Miami play from scrimmage came on a fake punt. Alim McNeill tallied a sack while rookie Derrick Moore added the first two of his young career. Aidan Hutchinson and Skyler Gill-Howard each forced holding penalties on plays. Undrafted rookie Anthony Lucas added a quarterback hit.

Chuck Clark tallied an interception. The corners held Willis to 125 yards passing on 25 attempts. It was a strong effort all around, with the entire unit playing for Jack Campbell. It is safe to say that the effort by Motown likely made Campbell smile.

The Bad

Pass Game

In yet another week, the Lions passing offense fell flat. Jared Goff got sacked early along with throwing an interception. Considering Miami statistically has one of the worst teams in passing yards per play, it was a disappointing effort.

Jameson Williams and Isaac TeSlaa combined for two catches for 40 yards. Jahmyr Gibbs was held without a catch for the first time since week four in 2024 and only the fourth time in his career. Sam LaPorta tallied four catches for 32 yards.

The only player producing at their expected level was Amon-Ra St. Brown, with the All-Pro having eight catches for 86 yards.

While the Lions did not need an All-Pro or MVP-level day from Jared Goff, it was not up to the early season standard that Goff has set.

Red Zone Offense

The red zone offense was not ideal. In fact, the saving grace for this is that Jake Bates was perfect on his field goals. The Lions came away with one touchdown on four red zone attempts. If it was not for Sheppard’s defense playing the game of the season thus far, it could have been a much more embarrassing result for Motown.

The shorter fields enabled Miami to be more aggressive, and Drew Petzing had not answers. Even on their lone touchdown drive, the Lions were held to a fourth down, where a well-called fake dive and pitch to Jahmyr Gibbs got a touchdown.

The Ugly

Offensive Line

It was not a day to remember in the Miami sun for the offensive line. They gave up three sacks in the first 17 minutes of game action, alongside seeing Miles Frazier whistled for a hold and a false start. First round pick Blake Miller was also whistled for a false start of his own.

Frazier was given a start after Christian Mahogany had violated team rules, and the Dolphins attacked the LSU product. Frazier gave up multiple run stuffs on a two-penalty day.

While the line regained momentum late, pushing for first downs to drain the clock, multiple red zone failures fall on the line not having solid days. In the end, the defense saved the offense and the Lions organization from an embarrassing loss to the one-win Dolphins.