News, notes ahead of Dolphins-Lions matchup
Following a dramatic victory on Sunday Night Football, the Miami Dolphins snapped a three-game skid and look to start another stretch of wins with a Week 8 matchup against the Detroit Lions on the horizon.
The 4-3 Dolphins saw their leader and quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, return for the prime-time Pittsburgh Steelers game, and he helped lead Miami to a 16-10 victory, which was capped with an endzone interception by cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. One of three Miami interceptions, the Dolphins kept a clean slate themselves and didn’t turn the ball over Sunday night.
While there’s still work to be done, there were both positives and negatives during the Dolphins’ win, and they now head to a mini midwestern road trip to face the NFC North’s Lions before a Week 9 matchup against the Chicago Bears.
The Lions and Bears have a combined 4-9 record, and Miami must take care of business against teams they’re clearly better than, even despite key injuries. The latest in injured reserve designations is budding star safety Brandon Jones, who suffered a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season
Miami has been decimated by injuries in the secondary, from the absence of Byron Jones, who’s still on the PUP list, the Achilles injury to Nik Needham two weeks ago, as well as undrafted rookie Kader Kohou missing the last two games.
This area of the field could be what the Lions aim to exploit, as they’re statistically more offensively potent than their record indicates. Detroit is averaging 395.2 yards per game in total offense (fourth in the league), while Miami is averaging 367 (10th).
On the flip side, it’s the Lions’ defense that’s a true indicator of the 1-5 mark. Detroit is dead last in the NFL in scoring defense, giving up 32,3 points per game, as well as total defense, allowing teams to gain an average of 412.2 yards of offense.
Here are some other news and notes heading into the Week 8 showdown:
Miami leads all-time series against Detroit
The Dolphins are 7-5 against the Lions all-time.
The Lions have won the last three games against Miami in 2018, 2014 and 2010. The Dolphins had won the previous five straight meetings.
Miami will see former interim head coach and now Lions head man, Dan Campbell across the sidelines.
The last and only victory at Ford Field for Miami was in 2006. The building opened in 2002.
A victory over Detroit would give Miami a 5-3 start for the third time in the past decade. They started 5-3 in the 2014 and 2020 seasons.
Dolphins continue to be offensively efficient
The Dolphins have the fifth-best red-zone touchdown percentage in the NFL through seven weeks (65%).
Miami is sixth in the league in yards per play (6.06).
They’ve been through three quarterbacks and faced four defenses in 2022 currently in the top 12 in scoring defense. Buffalo is first in the league in scoring defense (13.5) with the Cincinnati Bengals tied for seventh (18.9), the New York Jets tied for 10th (19.6) and the Minnesota Vikings at 12th (19.7).
Despite the injuries and opponents, Miami has the third-best passing attack (281.6 yards per game) in the league this year through Week 7.
The last time a Miami team started three different QBs in the first six games of a season was in 1980.
Chad Pennington is currently the Dolphins’ all-time leader in completion percentage at 67.6%. Tua Tagovailoa is moving closer to taking that franchise crown, as he’s completed 66.4% of his career passes.
Don't sleep on Andrew Van Ginkel - he is awakening
Van Ginkel has increased his defensive snap count in consecutive weeks since Week 4. He had a team-high and career-high 10 tackles Sunday night against the Steelers.
He also leads the team in special teams tackles (six).
He’s a free agent following this season.
Dolphins rush defense solid so far
Seven games into the season, the Dolphins haven’t allowed a 100-yard rushing performance by a running back. Quarterback Lamar Jackson did have 119 rushing yards back in Week 2.
Miami is ranked seventh in rushing defense, giving up just 103.3 yards per game.
Raheem Mostert continues to motor
For his career, Mostert is averaging 5.39 yards per carry. That’s fourth in NFL history among running backs with a minimum of 250 attempts.
Rashaad Penny (2018-22) – 5.69
Bo Jackson (1987-90) – 5.40
Hokie Gajan (1982-85) – 5.39
RAHEEM MOSTERT (2015-22) – 5.39
Jamaal Charles (2008-18) – 5.38
Mostert is currently averaging 4.5 yards per carry on the year and is clearly Miami’s lead running back.
