Jake Bates kicked four field goals, Jahmyr Gibbs scored the game’s only touchdown on a fourth-down run, and the Detroit Lions ground out a 19-9 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, November 8, at Hard Rock Stadium.
Detroit improves to 6-2 with its fourth straight win and never trailed. Miami falls to 1-7. The Lions arrived wearing No. 46 jerseys for linebacker Jack Campbell, who was placed on injured reserve this week after being hospitalized with a neck injury suffered against Minnesota; we covered how the Lions played for Jack Campbell separately.
A low-scoring grind
The league’s top-ranked offense, which entered averaging 29 points and 395.4 yards a game, finished with 270 yards. Miami’s front pressured Jared Goff throughout, sacking him three times, and rookie cornerback Chris Johnson intercepted a tipped pass in the first quarter, only the second pick Goff has thrown this season.
Bates made field goals of 28 and 40 yards in the first half and Zane Gonzalez hit from 34, sending Detroit to the break up 6-3. Bates added a 33-yarder in the third quarter and Gonzalez answered from 52. Both teams tried fake punts: Detroit’s punter threw an 11-yard pass to Tay Martin in the second quarter, but the drive stalled when the Dolphins sacked Goff on third down.
Gibbs on fourth down
Holding a 9-6 lead late in the third quarter, Goff found Jameson Williams for 31 yards, Detroit’s longest play of the day. On fourth down, Gibbs ran 8 yards for a touchdown with 1:20 left in the period, his 11th scrimmage touchdown of the season. The Lions went 4 for 4 on fourth down overall.
Miami answered with a fake of its own early in the fourth quarter, punter Bradley Pinion completing a 46-yard pass to Kaytron Allen to set up first down at the Detroit 18. The Dolphins again failed to reach the end zone and settled for Gonzalez’s 34-yard field goal. “That certainly wasn’t on our guys. That was on me,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of the fake. Bates’ 43-yarder with 4:28 left restored a 10-point lead, and Chuck Clark’s 34-yard interception return helped close it out.
The numbers
- Jake Bates: 4 for 4 on field goals, from 28, 40, 33 and 43 yards.
- Jahmyr Gibbs: 20 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown.
- Jared Goff: 17 of 25 for 170 yards and an interception, sacked three times. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught eight passes for 86 yards.
- Malik Willis: 13 of 25 for 128 yards and an interception, sacked three times. He ran only twice while playing through a groin injury he said “was a little tight.” Caleb Douglas had six catches for 70 yards.
- Defense: Rookie Derrick Moore had two sacks for Detroit. Jordyn Brooks had 12 tackles for Miami.
- Self-inflicted wounds: Miami went 0 for 3 in the red zone, was flagged 11 times for 87 yards, missed a field goal and had a kickoff fall short of the landing zone.
What it means
“The whole week was prepare and play like Jack. Kind of felt like we owed it to him,” Dan Campbell said. The win was his 54th in the regular season as Detroit’s coach, alone in second in franchise history behind Wayne Fontes (66). “We can’t keep saying the same things like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to get better,'” Willis said. Miami had played four straight one-score games before this one and failed to reach 100 rushing yards for the second week in a row.
Dolphins tight end Will Kacmarek hurt his quad on a low hit in the third quarter but walked off on his own.
What comes next
Detroit travels to Germany to face the New England Patriots in Munich on Sunday, November 15. Miami visits the Indianapolis Colts the same day.
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