Miami Dolphins vs. Detroit Lions: Full Report Card Grades for Detroit
The Detroit Lions must be trying to sell a pilot to TNT, because their 20-16 win over the Miami Dolphins was packed full of drama.
Penalties and poor special teams play paved the way for the Dolphins to gain control late in the third quarter. Dion Jordan scooped up a blocked field goal that he returned to the Detroit 3-yard line, setting up a nifty play to Mike Wallace for the score.
The Lions' opening roar to a 10-point lead looked destined to wither to a whimper. Instead, Matthew Stafford continued his late-game heroics, firing darts on Detroit's final drive. He capped it off with a pinpoint throw to Theo Riddick for the final score.
The result pushes Detroit to 7-2, with a chance to grab first place in the conference at Arizona next week. But before we start talking about the future, let's dig into the gritty details of each positional unit and hand out grades.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Matthew Stafford knows drama.
The sixth-year signal-caller was having a rather pedestrian day until he racked up 79 yards on the final drive to push his yardage to 280. Included in that total was a beautiful 49-yard bomb to Calvin Johnson in tight coverage.
"HOLY MEGATRON! Berserk throw by Stafford to monster catch by Calvin! Grimes may has well have been tickling him with a feather! TOUCHDOWN
— ESPN961.com (@espn961) November 9, 2014"
The touch he displayed on that throw was replicated multiple times on the game-winning drive. He dropped dimes to four different receivers, the most important one folding neatly into Theo Riddick's arms.
"Tremendous pass by Stafford to Theo Riddick. He's always money in the closing moments of the 4th quarter #Lions
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) November 9, 2014"
He'll likely catch heat this week because he locked in on Johnson a little too much in the beginning of the game. However, he completed 63 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and one insanely acrobatic interception on a throw that was just slightly underthrown.
Lastly, his moxie will be praised, but his pocket presence will fly under the radar. He dealt with a decent amount of pressure well, getting out of the pocket when necessary and adjusting his throwing motion when appropriate.
Grade: A-
Running Back
2 of 10
The positive is that Theo Riddick scored a touchdown in his third straight game (he didn't play against New Orleans). He securely tucked away Stafford's pass, avoiding the wrath of the Calvin Johnson rule.
"Stafford said the pass was supposed to go to @Riddick6 in the flat, but credited the RB with finding an opening when that was covered.
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 9, 2014"
He produced a total of five receiving yards. His compatriots Jed Collins and Joique Bell were productive through the air, however, with a combined 67 yards.
The bad news is that Detroit still has no idea how to run the football.
Lions running backs totaled just 62 yards on 17 carries. Bell led the way with 44, averaging a decent four yards per attempts.
It should be pointed out that Reggie Bush was running well until he presumably left with an injury. He had 20 yards on just four carries.
"Good to see @ReggieBush back in for @Lions. Yes, possible to return to game after high ankle sprain. Different degrees, this one mild.
— David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) November 9, 2014"
Keep an eye on his health moving forward. The Lions ground game depends on it.
Grade: B-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Calvin Johnson suited up for the first time in three games. You probably noticed him as the guy with seven catches for 117 yards and that long score.
He was locked in a well-contested battle with Brent Grimes all day. While the Dolphins cornerback had his share of victories, he proved that Johnson was beyond containment.
"Lions scored 7 first-quarter points in 3 games without Calvin Johnson. They have 10 in the first 11 minutes today.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) November 9, 2014"
Unfortunately, that scoring streak didn't continue, and the offense started stalling. It took offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi a little longer than fans would like, but he eventually remedied the malaise by getting Golden Tate involved.
"Great grab/run by Golden Tate on third down. 1st and 10 Lions at the Miami 17 with 1:02 left trailing 16-13. But we have a review. #MIAvsDET
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) November 9, 2014"
Tate continuously racked up yards after the catch on screens and short crossing patterns, including the above-tweeted play that gave Detroit a shot at the win. In all, he finished with 11 catches for 109 yards.
Jeremy Ross is the only other player from this group to catch a pass (one for five yards). The tight ends were kept in to block against the Dolphins' ferocious pass rush, so their lack of production can be excused.
You also have to factor Miami's tough secondary into this grade.
Grade: A
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The offensive line has taken a beating this year on the field and in the media. One look at Twitter illustrates that it didn't do much this week to aid its cause.
"The Lions offensive line is brutal & has been all season. Can't function on offense when you're getting manhandled like they are up front.
— James Light (@JamesALight) November 9, 2014"
The line has to take the "credit" for Detroit's poor rushing effort. There was some push early, but the Lions were overwhelmed up front as the day wore on.
However, the pass protection did look better for the second straight game. The box score shows the Dolphins with three sacks, but two were on Stafford scrambles. The third occurred when Stafford held onto the ball for a second too long.
To be clear, it wasn't a great effort up front. But when you consider that Larry Warford and LaAdrian Waddle left early with injuries, it was a decent effort against a monstrous front.
Grade: C+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
I'm running out of ways to describe the defensive line's dominance week in and week out.
Ndamukong Suh continued his stellar play with Nick Fairley out. He wrecked running plays and made life unbearable for Ryan Tannehill.
"Ndamukong Suh's Watt-like stat line today: Five tackles, one sack, three tackles for loss, three QB hits. #Lions
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) November 9, 2014"
He wasn't alone in the trenches.
Ziggy Ansah was an absolute monster. He has improved dramatically in his ability to hold his position at the point of attack and make tackles.
"Ansah punched that one out. That's something a lot of great defenders do regularly.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) November 9, 2014"
Aside from the forced fumble, Ansah also had six tackles (two for a loss) and a sack.
Darryl Tapp rounded out the sacks with a half of his own. Devin Taylor and C.J. Mosley added two tackles apiece.
Grade: A
Linebacker
6 of 10
DeAndre Levy is one of those players who doesn't always stick out until you look at the box score and realize he was a menace.
Again.
"#Lions DeAndre Levy breaks up pass in end zone. ... #Dolphins kick 23-yd field goal. Lions lead 10-3 with 13 seconds in first half.
— Paula Pasche (@paulapasche) November 9, 2014"
The near-interception was the biggest splash play. Yet it was his open-field tackling and hole-stuffing that resulted in 11 tackles to go along with that defensed pass.
Tahir Whitehead chipped in with three tackles, while Ashlee Palmer contributed two more and a half-sack. Kyle Van Noy also had two tackles, including a touchdown-saver on a kickoff return.
The linebackers as a unit weren't great against the pass, as Ryan Tannehill was able to complete a lot of short passes. However, they did contain those throws and limited the damage.
The front seven limited Miami to just 50 yards rushing, which was 87 yards below their average entering this game.
Grade: B+
Secondary
7 of 10
The man they call "Diggz" had himself a ballgame.
"@BrandonAlisoglu that's the difference between Diggz & Delmas. Delmas gambled, Diggz baits opponents into gambling.
— Derek Mack (@Dmacali818) November 9, 2014"
The tweet refers to James Ihedigbo's interception. He lined up deep off the line of scrimmage, giving Ryan Tannehill the impression that the out would be open. Once the ball was released, Ihedigbo broke on the ball perfectly.
He also provided plenty of bone-crunching hits. In all, he racked up six tackles (two for a loss), two passes defensed and the pick.
Darius Slay and Rashean Mathis combined for nine tackles. Like the linebackers, many of those tackles limited passing plays to the air yardage.
Only Mathis got burned badly when he allowed Mike Wallace to streak down the field. Luckily, someone (Andre Fluellen, maybe?) cut Tannehill in half just after his release, possibly causing the deep overthrow.
Tannehill had a semi-efficient day, completing 27 of 38 passes. Yet he was contained to just 201 yards passing. The credit must be split among all three levels of the defense.
Grade: A-
Special Teams
8 of 10
Punter Sam Martin did his normal thing on special teams. He knocked three punts for an average of 45.7 yards, with one downed inside the 20 and another that should have been.
Oh, and he also converted two passes on fake punts, one of which was successful.
"#Lions punter Sam Martin has a passer rating of 118.8 after going 2-of-2 for 27 yards on fake punts today.
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) November 9, 2014"
Conversely, the coverage team didn't do its job particularly well, much less throwing in any extracurriculars. Jarvis Landry averaged 38.5 yards per kick return, including a near-touchdown to start the second half.
Kicker Matt Prater did knock in a 50-yard field goal and added another short one (26 yards). Unfortunately, he also had a long field goal blocked due to the low trajectory of the ball.
Grade: B-
Coaching
9 of 10
It was a busy day for the coaching staff.
First, there were the 10 penalties for 98 yards. If the offense didn't overcome Kellen Davis' holding penalty to kick off the game-winning drive, this issue would have been the lead.
Next, there were those gutsy fourth-down calls.
"Jim Caldwell apparently spent the bye week transforming into an aggressive-minded coach.
— Pride Of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) November 9, 2014"
Head coach Jim Caldwell opted for two fake punts. The first one kept the opening drive alive, which eventually resulted in a field goal. The other didn't work, but his final decision to trust the offense on 4th-and-6 did.
Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is growing bolder and smarter with every game. His Nick Fairley-less defense put on another crushing performance by wrecking havoc up front.
"Look at this pass-rush formation with Suh and Ansah bunched. Both come inside and crush the pocket, dropping Tannehill again.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) November 9, 2014"
As for offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, there was some concern that he wasn't getting Golden Tate involved enough. Both members of his wide receiving duo topped 100 yards, and his team scored 20 points. He should have at least tried a pass to Calvin Johnson in the red zone on the initial drive, but he seems to be learning from previous mistakes.
Grade: B+
Final Grades
10 of 10
QB: A-
RB: B-
WR/TE: A
OL: C+
DL: A
LB: B+
Secondary: A-
ST: B-
Coaching: B+
Cumulative Grade: A-
This was an important win for Detroit. The Lions needed to prove they could beat a good team without any excuses or flukes.
Mission accomplished.
There is still work to do offensively, and the penalties are eventually going to cost this team a win. Yet, the entire team made plays when it needed to, and the defense continues to rock the crown awarded to the league's best.
This win doesn't officially count any more than either of the last two. It just feels different. And for a team looking to end a playoff-win drought, that mentality could make all the difference.
See you next week in the desert, when the Detroit Lions battle for conference supremacy.
Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.
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