Stepping up: Vetran captain and MIKE linebacker Jack Campbell missed Sunday's 19-9 win in Miami after suffering a neck injury vs. Minnesota. Sunday was the first game Campbell's missed in his NFL career and without their leader on defense, the Detroit Lions needed others in that room to step up.
Derrick Barnes took over the green dot making the defensive calls and that process looked seamless. Veteran Malcolm Rodriguez stepped into the MIKE role and led Detroit with eight tackles and a pass defended. Barnes had two tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. Joe Bachie had a tackle. Trevor Nowaske added a special teams tackle.
That group was on a mission to make their leader proud and they did a great job Sunday.
Arm talent: Punter Jack Fox completed his first-career pass attempt Week 7 of the 2021 season in Los Angeles against the Rams, throwing a 17-yard completion on a successful fake punt. Coming into Sunday's contest, Fox was 4-for-5 passing for 61 yards. Make that 5-for-6 for 72 yards after a completion to wide receiver Tay Martin on the first successful fake punt try by the Lions this season. Fox, who was a high school quarterback, threw a terrific back-shoulder throw to Martin.
Big man in the middle: It's hard to quantify what veteran defensive lineman Alim McNeill has meant to the Lions' defense this season. McNeill notched another sack Sunday, giving him a career-high 5.5 on the year with nine games still remaining in the regular season. He's also been terrific against the run and makes every player around him better. He's playing the best football of his career.
Rookie pass rushers: Detroit had three rookies – Derrick Moore, Anthony Lucas and Skyler Gill-Howard – each notch a quarterback hit in the same game for just the second time since quarterback hits began being tracked in 2006. Moore finished with two sacks on the afternoon, the first sacks of his NFL career.
As tough as they come: Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown logged eight receptions for 86 yards and took some shots over the middle in the process. St. Brown was limited in practice this week with a rib injury. Every time, he got back up. He's one of the players who epitomize the toughness and grit this team lives by.
6,000 & 60: It was a quieter day than we're used to from running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who rushed 20 times for 74 yards (3.7 avg.) and didn't have a catch. Gibbs had Detroit's touchdown against the Dolphins on an eight-yard run late in the third quarter. The touchdown gives him 60 scrimmage touchdowns to go with his 6,000-plus scrimmage yards. He's just the third player in NFL history to produce 6,000 scrimmage yards and 60 touchdowns through the first four seasons of a player's career, joining LaDainian Tomlinson (2001-04) and Terrell Davis (1995-98).
Stingy D: Detroit's defense has played great during their current four-game win streak. In the last three wins over Green Bay, Minnesota and Miami, the Lions allowed 17 points-or-fewer. The last time they allowed 17-or-fewer points in three-straight games in a single season was 2021.
Great perspective: Quarterback Jared Goff had a quote after the game about how important complementary football is to winning in this league and how it's fueled Detroit current four-game win streak.
"It has been six different ways and four in a row now in four different ways, and that's the hallmark of a good team is when you're able to find different ways to win repeatedly and just sticking in it," he said.
The offense has done their fair share to contribute to winning this season. Sunday wasn't their best game, but the defense and special teams picked them up. Goff is right - when teams do that consistently, it leads to wins.
O-line performance: It was a rough start for Detroit's offensive line Sunday as the offense scored just six points in the first half with 120 total yards. Goff was sacked three times in the first 30 minutes and the Dolphins notched five tackles for loss and five quarterback hits. One of the quarterback hits led to an interception.
The O-line settled in the second half, allowing zero sacks and just two quarterback hits. Detroit also found the end zone for the first time late in the third quarter. That's a good Miami front with some quickness on the edge. The Lions also navigated left guard Christian Mahogany not playing in the game due to a violation of team rules.
