Dolphins defense responds from ‘jabs to the chin’ against Lions with big second half
The Miami Dolphins’ offense did its job all day Sunday. That was key in the team erasing its 10-point halftime deficit and rallying to beat the Detroit Lions 31-27 at Ford Field.
Just as key was the Dolphins’ defense pitching a shutout in the second half after looking abysmal after the game’s first 30 minutes.
After allowing the Lions to score on all five of their first-half drives and giving up 326 yards of offense through two quarters, Miami held Detroit to just 67 yards and — most importantly — zero points on three second-half drives.
So, what changed?
“We started getting stops in the second half,” safety Jevon Holland deadpanned.
“We just stuck together,” Holland, who had a game-high 12 tackles and a pass breakup, then continued. “That’s what it was. We trusted our coaches, trusted the scheme, came in here and made adjustments and then went out there and executed. Nothing too complicated. It was real simple. Just do the job. That’s what we’ve got to do. Just calm down and get to the next play.”
Coach Mike McDaniel said the Dolphins made “subtle adjustments” entering the second half but also echoed Holland’s point about the group sticking together and making key plays when it mattered. It was an eerily similar performance to the Dolphins’ 42-38 win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2. Miami trailed 28-7 at halftime and 35-14 in the third quarter in that game before the defense made big stops late while the offense continued producing.
“If you get guys to keep playing,” McDaniel said, “you can survive a barrage of jabs to the chin.”
And the Lions laid their share of punches early Sunday.
Detroit opened the game with three consecutive touchdown drives of 75, 78 and 75 yards on just 17 total plays. Four of those 17 plays, all passes by Lions quarterback Jared Goff, went for at least 20 yards. That included a 58-yard pass to tight end T.J. Hockenson on the second drive to set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Goff to D’Andre Swift and a 43-yard pass to receiver Kalif Raymond on the first play of the second quarter that led to a 1-yard Jamaal Williams touchdown run (his second of the game) to put Detroit up 21-7.
“Keep your head down and just keep chopping wood and eventually, our style of play would come out,” McDaniel said.
The Dolphins closed the first half by limiting the Lions to field goals on their final two drives to keep the deficit a manageable 27-17 entering halftime.
The Lions’ longest play on those final two drives of the first half? A 15-yard run by Williams later in the second quarter.
“Even when we were getting stops [late in the first half],” Holland said, “it was kind of like ‘Leave that behind. We have to get to the next play, the next stop.’”
And then the group took its game to another level in the second half.
Miami forced Detroit to punt on its first two possessions before getting a turnover on downs with Goff’s final pass, a floater to Josh Reynolds on fourth-and-1 with less than three minutes left, fell incomplete.
Miami recorded all three of its tackles for loss in the second half.
As for specifics on those three drives:
▪ After Miami’s offense opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive to cut its deficit to 27-24, Detroit picked up a first down two plays into its first second-half drive before committing three consecutive penalties to set up a first and 30. They managed just 5 total yards on their next three plays before punting from their 23-yard line with 5:28 left in the third quarter.
Miami’s offense then marched 67 yards on nine plays, capped by an 11-yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Mike Gesicki for the go-ahead touchdown.
▪ Detroit again picked up a first down early in its second possession, . Kader Kohou then tackled Swift in the backfield for a 2-yard loss and Zach Sieler sacked Goff on third down to force another punt.
▪ With one final drive, the Lions started marching down the field. They ran 10 plays over 5:27 and got to the Miami 35 before Goff’s final pass fell incomplete.
The Lions’ longest play of the second half? An 11-yard pass from Goff to Hockenson on Detroit’s second-to-last play.
“There were some adjustments, yes, but more than anything, we have a lot of prideful guys on that side of the ball — players and coaches included,” McDaniel said. “They projected their frustration in an appropriate manner.”
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