Lions at Dolphins: Detroit's Pass Attack Meets the League's Softest Pass Defense

Lions fans, Miami is not a bye week in disguise. Detroit just took an emotional win over Minnesota, and now it has to travel to face a 1-6 Dolphins team that still plays scrappy.

Our Take: The matchup tape screams Lions pass game. Trust Jared Goff to attack a pass defense that has been getting lit up, keep the run honest, and do not gift Miami early life. Trap games are lost by soft opens, not by talent gaps.

Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit breaks it down in his On Paper preview: Detroit's pass offense ranks 8th in DVOA against Miami's 29th-ranked pass defense. Reisman lists Lions marks of fourth in passer rating (110.0), seventh in yards per attempt (7.9), and first in EPA per pass (+0.21), while the Dolphins sit 32nd in passer rating allowed (119.5), yards per attempt allowed (8.3), dropback EPA, and dropback success rate. He flags Sam LaPorta as a player to watch with Miami allowing the sixth-most yards to tight ends (483) and tied for the fourth-most tight-end touchdowns (six). The Lions run game (4th in DVOA) faces a 26th-ranked Dolphins run defense; Reisman notes Detroit's 4.6 yards per carry and Jahmyr Gibbs' missed-tackle rate, while cautioning that Jack Campbell's absence and D.J. Reed trending toward missing the game thin the back seven even if Brian Branch is on track to play.

What to watch: early LaPorta targets and whether Detroit's pass rush can disrupt Malik Willis before he hits deep shots. Finish the job — do not let a short week after Minnesota become a soft road start.

Sources: Pride of Detroit, DetroitLions.com