Detroit Lions Opponent Preview: Week 10 Miami Dolphins
Bye weeks are never fun for the fans, and while last Sunday was stress free, it was boring for most without some Detroit Lions football.
However, the bye week was much needed for the Lions as it allowed injured players such as Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush and every tight end on the roster to rest up.
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This Sunday the Lions welcome their old teammate Louis Delmas and the 5-3 Miami Dolphins who are coming off a 37-0 rout of the San Diego Chargers. The major story-line for the Lions in this game is the long awaited return of Calvin Johnson.
The offense has struggled without their team MVP but have found ways to win. It goes without saying, they are very excited to have Megatron back and causing trouble for opposing defenses.
The Miami Dolphins defense they will face this week is a great one, in fact it’s top three in the NFL this season. They live on stopping the pass, only the Kansas City Chiefs are allowing less passing yards than the Dolphins.
The Lions have struggled to move the ball these past few weeks. That’s going to happen though when you take away not only your best offensive weapon, but most of them.
Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Calvin Johnson, is going to be the difference maker on Sunday. His presence alone will improve the Lions offense. Golden Tate has taken over the work-load, with a healthy Megatron, you can only double cover one of these studs. This will benefit Golden Tate who will continue to impress.
Reggie Bush is also expected to play, no word on any of the tight ends however.
One area where this offense will struggle on Sunday is again, going to be in the running game.
The Dolphins have done a decent job all year of shutting down their opponent’s rushing game holding them to just 102 yards per game. That doesn’t sound great, but they should have no trouble slowing down this Lions rushing attack which is averaging under 80 yards a game
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The Dolphins also get after the quarterback, they have 25 sacks this season. That is the 5th most in the NFL. The Lions give up sacks, Stafford has already been sacked this season more than he was all of last season. The Dolphins will get after Stafford on Sunday, the Lions will have to limit the damage.
Ryan Tannehill is very quietly having himself a great season, and is coming off his best game yet. The 3rd year quarterback from Texas A&M is completed 70.6% of his passes and finished with a rating of 125.6
His favorite two targets are Mike Wallace and Jarvis Landry who have combined for 761 yards and 7 touchdowns. This shouldn’t be a problem for the Lions as they have shut down better passing attacks already this season in Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, Drew Brees and the Saints, and even Matt Ryan and the Falcons.
The real match-up to watch will be the Dolphins top five rushing game against the Lions elite rush defense.
Lamar Miller is on pace for a 1,000 season and the Dolphins average 137 yards rushing per game.
Prediction:
Two of the leagues top five defenses meet up, scoring won’t be easy for either side.
Lions offense is finally healthy, expect big things from Calvin in his 1st game back as he will help the Lions get just enough of offense to win a close one.
Lions 23, Dolphins 20
Next: Detroit Lions: Top 5 Players to Watch in Second Half of 2014