Miami Dolphins week 8 opponent preview: Detroit Lions

The Miami Dolphins (4-3) travel to Detroit to clash with the Lions (1-5) at Ford Field on Sunday. Here is what you need to know about the Lions.

The Lions have lost four straight. They have one win through six games and have been outscored 53-6 in their last two contests before hosting the Dolphins in week eight.

Are the Lions really that bad?

The Lions, metrically, have a top-five offense in the NFL

Detroit ranks fourth in the league in terms of yards gained, averaging an impressive 395 yards per game. Unfortunately for the Lions, those yards have not translated to the win column.

They are led by quarterback Jared Goff, who has had a fairly decent year so far in his second season in Detroit. Goff has thrown for 1,583 yards and 11 touchdowns to go along with 6 interceptions. Goff’s issue isn’t production — it is consistency.

Goff has two games with four touchdowns and one or less interceptions this season, a relatively impressive statistic. However, Goff also has three games with one or less touchdown and one or more interceptions.

In the past two games, Goff has thrown for zero touchdowns and three interceptions.

It does not help Goff, however, that Detroit’s leading receiver, Josh Reynolds, is 38th in the league in receiving yards. In six games, their presumptive number one receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown only has 275 receiving yards.

The Lions’ historically bad defense is dead last in the league

By essentially every metric, the Lions’ defense is monumentally terrible.

The Lions are last in terms of yards per game allowed (412), points per game allowed (32.3) and second-to-last in rushing yards allowed per game (162.8).

If the Dolphins need a ‘get right’ game, this is the defense to do it against. Against a team allowing almost 250 passing yards a game, Tua and the Dolphins should be able to move the ball down the field all day against this unit.

The Lions have given up more than 27 points in all but one game this season. The Dolphins must capitalize on this defense’s struggles and get some momentum going for the mid-season stretch.

The Lions get some key players back from injury this weekend

The silver lining for Detroit is the fact they’ll be getting some guys back this weekend.

Tight end TJ Hockenson, one of Goff’s favorite targets, will be back after missing some time due to a knee injury.

Wide receiver Josh Reynolds, the Lions’ leading receiver this season, is slated to return to the lineup as well after dealing with a knee injury of his own.

Running back D’Andre Swift, one of the most potent weapons on this Detroit offense, will be available after nursing an ankle injury.

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who we mentioned is supposed to be the number one receiver in Detroit, is questionable but practicing for the Lions. St. Brown missed the Lions’ last game due to concussion protocol.

The bottom line

While the Lions sport a truly terrible defense, the Dolphins should still take Detroit seriously. This could easily be a trap game for the Dolphins if they are not careful.

The Lions put up a lot of yards on offense. The Dolphins are missing some key players in the secondary. That could be a perfect storm for a shootout that may come down to home-field advantage and a bit of luck.

Regardless, the Dolphins do need to start stacking some wins together and get themselves set back up for a midseason run. This is an opponent the Dolphins should beat and they need to take care of business before looking to the future.

Kickoff is slated for 1:00 ET this Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit. The Dolphins open up as 3.5-point road favorites.

Oh — and another thing. The Dolphins have not beaten the Lions since 2006. Keep that in mind before you hammer your bets.