Detroit Lions winners and losers: Kelvin Sheppard has defense humming

MIAMI GARDENS, FL – Free Press sports writer Rainer Sabin highlights the best and worst performances from the Detroit Lions' 19-9 Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Nov. 8, at Hard Rock Stadium.

Kelvin Sheppard

As the first month of the NFL season came to a close, it appeared as if the second-year coordinator’s days in Detroit could be numbered. After all, Sheppard’s defense, which was ranked near the bottom of most statistical categories during that period, resembled a sieve. But in recent weeks, it has rebounded. During the three-game winning streak they cobbled together before Sunday, the Lions allowed just 17.6 points and 305.6 yards per game. The improvement was marked. Yet there was reason to wonder whether the progress would stall in wake of Jack Campbell’s severe neck injury suffered last Sunday. Campbell was the on-field conductor of Sheppard’s scheme, after all.

But the Dolphins were the latest team to struggle to generate much offense against the Lions. They averaged just 4.6 yards per play and were kept out of the end zone. Credit Sheppard for navigating a challenging situation and ensuring his defense remained on an upward trajectory.

Lions defensive line

On Sunday, Malik Willis wasn't sacked until the fourth quarter, when Alim McNeill wrangled him down for a nine-yard loss. But that doesn’t mean the Dolphins quarterback didn’t feel the presence of the Lions’ defensive front long before then.

He most definitely did. So did Miami’s offensive line.

From the outset of the game, Aidan Hutchinson and Co. created havoc. When they were not flushing Willis from the pocket and forcing him to throw the ball away, they were placing the blockers in front of him under such duress that they committed a series of holding infractions – five in total.

Then, after McNeill finally brought him down, the Lions sacked Willis twice more.

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Bates had a shaky end to the preseason, and there were questions about how he would fare once the real games began.

But as it turned out, there was no reason to worry because Bates has been one of the most dependable kickers in the NFL. Through the first eight weeks of the season, he had made 92.3% of his field goal attempts – the sixth-best rate in the league.

On Sunday, he converted all four of his tries, helping the Lions build and maintain their lead. None of the kicks were especially challenging; his longest was 43 yards. But it shouldn’t be taken for granted that Bates made each of them. After all, Zane Gonzalez watched a 38-yard attempt bang off the right upright at the end of the first half.

Lions offensive line

When the Lions’ offense took the field on the opening drive, Miles Frazier was lined up at left guard. He then remained there until the very end. It was a surprising development considering Christian Mahogany had started at that spot in each of the six games in which he was active and strung together a series of solid performances.

It was even more baffling given that Mahogany wasn’t included on the team’s injury report this week. With Frazier playing in place of Mahogany, the offensive line looked weaker. It struggled to protect Jared Goff. Goff was sacked three times, pressured on a significant number of dropbacks and was hit in his arm as he released a pass that resulted in his lone interception. Goff wasn’t the only one negatively impacted by the shoddy blocking. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs was held to just 3.7 yards per carry and was dropped for a loss three times in a four-play span during a rough sequence in the second quarter.

Goff has been performing at an MVP level for much of the year. But on Sunday, he wasn’t very effective.

He completed just 17 of 25 attempts for 170 yards. He also threw his second interception of the year, failing to sense the pressure Josh Uche applied before the Miami defensive end hit his arm and disrupted the follow-through on doomed pass he unleashed.

On the Lions’ ensuing possession, Goff was lucky to avoid another pick when he floated a dangerous throw to Jameson Williams over the middle that fell incomplete.

Goff would play better over the course of the game. But he never seemed to find a rhythm, and his unimpressive final stat line revealed as much.