Phins Must Focus on Lions ‘Trap Game’
Lions are a losing team, but Phins must be focused
The Miami Dolphins finally returned to a winning record after a three-game losing streak and are entering the softest part of their schedule. But Miami must stay focused and start racking up wins if they want to reach the playoffs. The Phins will face the Lions in Detroit this week with their former interim coach, Dan Campbell, as the Lions Head Coach. Even though the Lions are a lowly 1-5, they’ve played hard for Campbell, who runs the team with fearless aggression. There is rarely an easy out in the NFL, so the Phins must be focus or this could end up a trap game.
Dolphins are given a solid edge to win
Before the Sunday games, the various pay per head sites had the Dolphins as a -3 favorite. On Monday morning though the line has crept up to -3.5 for the road Dolphins. You can bet the public is going to be jumping all over the Dolphins this week, which unfortunately is never a good sign since the house always wins.
On offense, the Dolphins showed flashes of what they can be, especially on their first drive against the Steelers. However, they weren’t consistent and didn’t even score any points in the second half. The offense needs to finally play up to their potential for an entire game, not just for brief moments because the Lions put up points.
It does seem like the running game has shown some life over the last couple games, but there are still too many self-inflicted penalties. The key though is Tua, who looked a little rusty after missing time. Hopefully with another full week of practice under his belt he can get back to being one of the more accurate passers in the league. Tua was lucky that 4 passes that could have been picked off were dropped against the Steelers. Any one of them could have cost the Phins the game.
On defense, the Dolphins did a better job and finally created some turnovers. It was clutch play that the grabbed two of their three interceptions on the last two drives of the game. Miami hadn’t caused a turnover since their Week 3 victory against the Bills. While you can’t bank on that kind of win every week, the Lions are coming off a 5-turnover let down in the second half against the Cowboys. Maybe we won’t get three picks this week, but if Miami keeps the pressure, we can at least create some turnovers.
Goff loves to turn the ball over
The great news is the Lions have Goff as their QB and Miami had a winning formula when they last played him when he was with the LA Rams, which was to blitz him a lot and keep applying pressure. Goff is not great when he is pressured and that will be an important part of the Dolphins Defensive game plan.
Playing on the road is always difficult in the NFL, and the Dolphins are currently 1-2 on the road. So even though the Lions only have 1 win, Miami needs to play their best to get to 5-3. If the Phins can take this one with three more very manageable games coming, they’ll be in prime position to make the post season. And that’s what this whole season is about and what we very tired Phins fans desperately need!
What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans thoughts about the Dolphins getting a winning streak going against the Lions?
