● What: Detroit Lions at Miami Dolphins
● When: Sunday, Nov. 8, 1 p.m.
● Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Fla.
● How to watch: CBS (Harlan/Green/Collins)
● How to listen: 97.1-FM The Ticket in Metro Detroit or any number of network affiliates around the state.
● Line: Lions -6.5
● Injury report: After a stretch of relatively good health, the Lions will be short-handed against the Dolphins.
Obviously, the big news from last week was the neck injury suffered by Jack Campbell. He was placed on injured reserve on Saturday.
Also out for the Lions are cornerback DJ Reed, center Cade Mays and defensive end DJ Wonnum. Meanwhile, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (ribs) and running backs Sione Vaki (ankle) and Jacob Saylors (neck) are questionable.
The Lions elevated running back Jabari Small off the practice squad this weekend as backfield insurance.
● Officiating assignment: Land Clark’s crew.
● Last meeting: It’s been four years since the Lions have played the Dolphins.
Hosting Miami at Ford Field, Detroit went scoreless in the second half after putting up 27 through two quarters, falling to 1-6 on the season with the 31-27 loss.
Quarterback Jared Goff, who threw for 321 yards in defeat, couldn’t connect on a deep ball to Josh Reynolds on fourth-and-1 in the closing minutes.
Three things worth watching
● Detroit played 22 defensive players last week, including 21 in the opening quarter. That’s an aggressive rotation, but one that befuddled a struggling Minnesota offense, resulting in the visiting Vikings’ first loss of the season.
Even with the absences of Campbell, Reed and Wonnum, we should expect something similar against Miami.
Experienced veterans Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez should be at the forefront of replacing Campbell’s snaps, but the Lions will likely lean on younger talent at cornerback and edge.
At corner, Ennis Rakestraw should be back in the mix after an ankle injury factored into a limited role a week ago. And the Lions signed Nick Whiteside off their practice squad during the weekend, adding a familiar face to the team’s recent deployment of a rotation at the position.
At edge, this will be a huge opportunity for second-round pick Derrick Moore, who has played sparingly to this point. Tyler Lacy should handle a lot of the obvious run-down reps, while the rotation will be rounded out by undrafted rookies Eric O’Neill and Anthony Lucas. The latter was elevated off the practice squad on Saturday for his pro debut.
● This Dolphins team is young, starting multiple rookies on both sides of the ball, but the defense has been scrappy in losses to Kansas City, Minnesota and New England, holding each under 25 points.
Meanwhile, Detroit has been held in check by their last two opponents, divisional rivals Green Bay and Minnesota, scoring a combined 39 points in those two victories.
The interesting overlap with this matchup is Jeff Hafley, the Dolphins’ first-year head coach. Prior to taking the position, he served as Green Bay’s defensive coordinator the past two seasons, where he had some success bottling up Detroit’s potent attack at times, particularly in last year’s season opener.
Hafley is calling plays for the Miami defense. Will his deeper understanding of Detroit’s personnel help in any way, or will the inexperience on his unit, as well as Detroit’s play-calling upgrade prove too much to overcome?
● Special teams has the potential to be a factor with Detroit’s injuries forcing them to shuffle the deck.
Among the players lost to injury a week ago was rookie Jimmy Rolder, who had logged 79 reps through his first five games on teams. And with Campbell out of action, Rodriguez and Trevor Nowaske — who sits atop the special teams rep chart — are likely to see a reduction of those roles with more defensive work.
Finally, Vaki and Saylors are second and fifth on the snap chart with those groups, with injuries potentially sidelining or limiting them. All that to say there’s going to be plenty of moving parts against a Dolphins team that’s averaging a respectable 26.1 yards on kickoff returns and 12.1 on punts.
Coming off two tough divisional games, tons of injuries, and Campbell tragedy this is the very definition of a trap game. Come out flat and lazy and this young team can jump all over you.
This will not be a simple win.