No one asked if this week was going to be a close game between the Miami Dolphins and the Detroit Lions because it wasn't supposed to be. Until late in the 3rd quarter, this game was in Miami's hands for a big-time steal.
The outcome did not land in Miami's favor, but the team played well enough to win. Defensively, the Dolphins may have played their best game of the entire season. At least Jeff Hafley thinks so.
"The communication was really good this week," Hafley said after the game. "I think they played their best all year."
He isn't lying, and the Week 9 statistics support his assertion.
Miami Dolphins played their best game of the 2026 season defensively
Last week, Hafley was asked what his expectations were for this week against the best offense in the league. The head coach said they were excited for the challenge that it was going to present. Despite the scoreboard looking more lopsided than the game really was, losing to Detroit 19-9 was a great outing for a team that was expected to get schooled.
5: Jared Goff's yardage total
The best offense in the NFL ran into a brick wall on Sunday in Miami. It may have finally splintered at the end, but for most of the game, the Lions' offense couldn't move the ball consistently, and pressure on their QB was a big reason why.
Goff completed 68% of his passes but for a season-low 170 yards and no touchdowns. It's hard to imagine, given the offensive firepower the Lions have, that the only thing they could come up with was field goals until later in the game. Goff finished with 17 completions on 24 attempts, a 70.42 rating, and three sacks.
4: Amon-Ra St. Brown was no better than a slot receiver
The WR is one of the elites in the NFL. He is reliable and hard to keep in check. On Sunday, he managed to catch eight of his 10 targets for a respectable 86 yards, but no one expected him to be held under 100, and no one expected him to be kept out of the end zone.
St. Brown's longest play of the day was 17 yards. The Dolphins did a great job of keeping him in front of their secondary, where they could make tackles.
3: Jahmyr Gibbs falls victim to the Dolphins stout run defense
Gibbs ran the ball 20 times for 74 yards and was the only player to score a touchdown for the Lions. His longest run was for 16 yards, which puts that number into better perspective. The Dolphins held the Lions' rushing attack in check, allowing 102 yards combined on the ground.
Gibbs was good, but he was a far cry from the player that everyone expected to see. The biggest surprise here was the fact that the trio of Gibbs, Jameson Williams, and St. Brown were all put in check by the young Dolphins defense. Williams caught just one pass for 31 yards.
2: Dolphins finally stop a tight end
Sam LaPorta is one of the best TEs in the league, another weapon for Goff in the arsenal of power they have. The Dolphins have struggled throughout the season, and over the last decade, to stop tight ends consistently.
LaPorta was held to just four receptions for 32 yards on five targets.
1: Dolphins lock down Lions on 3rd down
Miami is notorious for giving up big plays on third down. For nearly 60 minutes, they did just that. The Lions were held to just three third-down conversions on 12 attempts. That's a huge swing in the Dolphins' favor. While they completed all four of their fourth-down attempts, third-down success was something the Dolphins haven't seen a lot of.
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