Detroit — The Lions offense rediscovered its early-season groove, but last week’s defensive improvements proved to be little more than a mirage. Despite jumping out to a 14-point lead and holding a 10-point advantage at the half, the Lions were unable to hang on against the Miami Dolphins, falling 31-27 at Ford Field on Sunday.
The two teams combined for nearly 600 yards of offense in the first half, but when the Lions stumbled in the third quarter, the Dolphins jumped ahead and never looked back, thanks to the relentless receiving tandem of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
“We didn’t want to turn it into a track meet, and it was a track meet,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said.
BOX SCORE: Dolphins 31, Lions 27
Hill and Waddle combined for more than 300 yards of offense. Hill provided a steady stream of long gains and Waddle found the end zone twice, while resetting the chains with a first down on five of his six other receptions.
The defeat marked the fifth straight loss for the Lions, who drop to 1-6 on the season. The defensive struggles prevented the team from capitalizing on a productive day for the offense and quarterback Jared Goff.
After mustering just six points the past two games, Detroit’s offense came out humming, scoring touchdowns on each of the team’s first three possessions.
The Lions needed just five plays to find the end zone after taking the opening kickoff. Goff connected with Kalif Raymond for a 27-yard gain, setting up a 7-yard scoring run by Jamaal Williams up the gut to get the track meet underway.
And the Lions extended that early advantage to 14 when safety Kerby Joseph forced a fumble that was recovered by fellow rookie Malcolm Rodriguez. With the ball back in the offense’s hands, Goff had the Lions returning to the end zone in six snaps, fueled by a 58-yard catch-and-run for tight end T.J. Hockenson. The returning D’Andre Swift, who missed the past three games with ankle and shoulder injuries, put the finishing touches on the drive with a 7-yard touchdown catch coming out of the backfield.
This time the Dolphins (5-3) were able to respond, with Hill and Waddle setting a tone for the rest of the contest. Hill opened the series with a 24-yard grab before blowing past the coverage of nickel cornerback AJ Parker for a 36-yarder to convert a third-and-13. Waddle put a bow on the possession, running a crosser from the right slot and hauling in a 5-yard touchdown from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
But the Lions refused to let the foot off the gas, cashing in on another long pass to open the second quarter. The 43-yard bomb from Goff to Raymond set Williams up for his second touchdown of the afternoon, putting the Lions up, 21-7.
“I think Kalif gives us something that not a lot of teams have with his speed and we tried to take advantage of it today,” Goff said.
But the Dolphins countered with another score of their own behind the potent playmaking of their receivers. Hill had a 42-yard catch early in the series and Waddle got behind the coverage of Parker for a 29-yard score to slice the lead back to seven.
“We didn’t hit them at the line,” Campbell said about the defense’s inability to slow Miami’s two receivers. “That was part of the game plan. We didn’t disrupt.”
Things briefly slowed, but not to a crawl, as the two sides traded field goals. Michael Badgley knocked down a 42-yard effort for the Lions and Jason Sanders answered with a 45-yarder with 2:10 remaining in the first half.
It appeared the Lions finally stalled after only gaining seven yards on third-and-10, but a successfully executed fake punt on a direct snap to safety C.J. Moore extended the end-of-half drive. Following that conversion, Goff completed five consecutive passes — including one to himself after a ball was batted at the line of scrimmage — pushing the offense into the red zone.
With time for just one shot into the end zone, Josh Reynolds dropped a bullet from Goff, leaving the Lions to settle for a 26-yard Badgley kick. That sent Detroit into the locker room with a 10-point lead.
“It’s like we say every week, every play is significant,” Campbell said. “You just don’t know which one it is, and it turns out that that was significant. It turns out at the end of the game, that was significant.”
By the half, the two teams had combined for 517 passing yards, and the Lions couldn’t find an adjustment to slow down Miami during the break. The Dolphins marched 75 yards on nine plays to open the third quarter, with three gains of 13 or more setting up a 1-yard touchdown plunge off a direct snap to fullback Alec Ingold.
A trio of penalties on back-to-back-to-back snaps against Detroit’s offensive tackles led to the first punt of the game for either side, opening the door for the Dolphins to take their first lead.
An 18-yard scramble by Tagovailoa on a third down near midfield extended the drive, leading to the quarterback hitting Mike Gesicki for an 11-yard touchdown. That put Miami up, 31-27, following the extra point.
The Lions, on the other hand, remained cooled off. After gaining a quick first down, a false start penalty on Taylor Decker and sack quickly derailed the possession, leading to another punt early in the fourth quarter.
“Really wanted to go out there and score, try to lock it down, and (had) some lapses,” Decker said. “I take full responsibility for the penalties that were on me.”
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The Dolphins looked primed to put the game out of reach, quickly driving across midfield, but the Lions defense finally managed to force a punt when Tagovailoa’s third-down pass for Waddle sailed well wide of its target.
With new life, the offense settled back into a groove behind Williams, who carried the ball twice for 16 yards and also hauled in a first-down reception. Amon-Ra St. Brown also chipped in two catches, with the second netting a fresh set of downs across midfield, but the typically reliable receiver put one on the ground two plays later.
Facing fourth-and-1 from the Dolphins’ 35 with 2:59 remaining, the Lions opted to go for it. Instead of trying a run or throwing short, Goff looked deep to Reynolds but the errant pass landed wide of the receiver, who was unable to adjust after spinning back to the ball.
“That’s kind of my only option on that play once St. Brown was covered,” Goff said about throwing deep. “Wish I would have thrown a better ball. Thought I left it outside maybe had a chance there. They called a good coverage and we had a one-on-one shot down the field and we just didn’t connect.”
Appropriately, the Dolphins were able to run out the clock with a third-down converting pass to Hill. He finished with 12 catches for 188 yards, as Tagovailoa completed 29 of 36 passes for 382 yards and three touchdowns, including the two to Waddle (eight catches, 106 yards).
Goff was 27-for-37 passing for 321 yards and a touchdown.
The Lions will host the Packers at home next Sunday.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers