The Detroit Lions won at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, beating the Miami Dolphins 19-9 to improve to 6-2, a half game behind the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North. Detroit played with linebacker Jack Campbell on its mind: he remains hospitalized after a spinal injury in the previous Sunday’s win over the Vikings, and the Lions’ theme all week was to prepare and play like No. 46.
A defense that did the job
The offense was uneven, and the defense carried the afternoon. Derrick Moore sacked Malik Willis twice and Alim McNeill added one, while Aidan Hutchinson kept the Dolphins’ quarterback under pressure. Willis finished 13 of 25 for 128 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, and he ran for only 7 yards. Veteran safety Chuck Clark made that interception on a pass intended for Malik Washington and returned it from the Lions’ 40 to the Miami 26-yard line, which set up a 33-yard field goal that made it 9-3. Miami kicker Zane Gonzalez hit the right upright on a field-goal try on the final play of the first half, and the Lions went to the break with the lead.
Jared Goff was 17 of 25 for 170 yards and was intercepted once, his second of the season. Jahmyr Gibbs scored on an 8-yard run on fourth-and-1 to make it 16-6 after a six-play, 65-yard drive that included a 31-yard throw to Jameson Williams. Gibbs became the first player in franchise history with 11 or more touchdowns in four straight seasons. Both teams also converted fake punts for first downs.
54 wins for Dan Campbell
The Lions’ football communications account noted that Campbell has now earned 54 regular-season wins, the second most by a head coach in franchise history. He had been tied at 53 with Potsy Clark and George Wilson, and only Wayne Fontes, with 66, has more. Campbell is 54-38-1 in Detroit.
What Campbell said before the game
Asked this week about the possibility of moving up the list, Campbell said it was not on his mind. “It’s about us getting better, man. We got to find a way to win this game,” he said. “We got to play our best football, just like we do every week.” On Jack Campbell, he said: “Jack continues to improve, which is all great news. How would he prepare? How would he play? Those are the standards for us going into this game. We owe it to him.”
Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard described the theme in the same terms. “The way you honor him is to wipe those tears from your eyes and make sure we prepare and play like him,” Sheppard said. Linebacker Derrick Barnes said one of the Lions’ keys to victory was “preparing to play like No. 46.” Jack Campbell said in a statement on Wednesday that he has full movement in his lower body and is making progress with movement in his upper body.
What comes next
Detroit is 6-2 with two division games already played, and the Dolphins fall to 1-7. Miami is now in the mix for the first pick of the 2027 NFL draft, a race we track in our draft order tracker.
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