Dee Friedman
After a come-from-behind win over Atlanta in London, the Lions will be well rested (after a week 9 bye) when they host the Dolphins in week 10. Miami has won each of their last three road games and has averaged 30.7 points per contest in the trio of victories. Detroit won in Miami, 34-27, in 2010; but the Dolphins have beaten the Lions in five of their last six matchups including the last two battles in Michigan.
After a come-from-behind win over Atlanta in London, the Lions will be well rested (after a week 9 bye) when they host the Dolphins in week 10. Miami has won each of their last three road games and has averaged 30.7 points per contest in the trio of victories. Detroit won in Miami, 34-27, in 2010; but the Dolphins have beaten the Lions in five of their last six matchups including the last two battles in Michigan.
Miami lost their road opener at Buffalo 29-10 in week 2. Since then they have been perfect away from home. The Dolphins beat Oakland 38-14 (in a nominal road game in London), dominated the Bears 27-14, and turned defense into offense in a 27-13 win over the Jaguars. The Dolphins rank among the strongest teams in the league in rushing yards and defending the pass. They struggle a bit to consistently throw the ball effectively, but QB Ryan Tannehill has shown flashes of brilliance. In particular, the Texas A&M product was sublime against the Bears, going 25/32 for 277 yards and two TDs. For that game, at least, Tannehill looked every bit the franchise quarterback the Fins were expecting when they drafted him eighth overall in 2012.
Detroit is riding high with three straight wins and five victories in their last six. Detroit is 3-1 this year in games decided by a touchdown or less and have turned into fourth quarter miracle workers. Last week in London, the Lions trailed Atlanta 21-0, but wound up winning 22-21 after a last second field goal from Matt Prater. In week 7 against New Orleans, Detroit scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes to beat the Saints 24-23. First year Lions coach Jim Caldwell has had success in his career after bye weeks. In three seasons with the Colts, he went 2-1 after the break. Thus far this year the Lions have the top ranked defense in the NFL. On offense, the Lions are an above average passing team, but very poor running the ball. Joique Bell has just 313 yards on 98 carries this season (3.2 yards per carry).
(Photo credit: Marianne O’Leary (Detroit Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.)
