CBS4's Steve Goldstein on the Dolphins wild win in Detroit
MIAMI – Trying to get back to two games above .500 the Dolphins played another wild road game in Detroit. In a game that looked more like a video game early on, with the offenses rolling up huge numbers, the Dolphins overtook the Lions for a 31-27 win.
The game did "normalize" in the second half. It may not have been pretty but it's a win. It was exciting and if you like offense this was a good watch.
Tua Shines
As usual, when Tua Tagovailoa plays the Dolphins win. That's been clear cut the last two seasons.
He was sharp in his second game back from injury and in command all game. Teaming up with the dynamic duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, Tua and the offense torched the Lions defense.
Cheetah
Tyreek Hill is having an MVP type season. He's explosive, intense, productive and elevates teammates. GM Chris Grier struck gold aquiring Hill for draft picks.
The vision of what could be with Hill and Waddle together, Tagovailoa's accuracy and Mike McDaniel calling plays has come to fruition.
Up and Down Defense
The Defense improved as the game went on but use any adjective you like to describe the defense to start this game. Ugly may be an understatement.
Detroit walked down the field on the first 3 drives for touchdowns that were so easy it was stunning to watch.
They finally got a stop on drive number 4, holding Detroit to a field goal and continued to find their groove in the second half shutting out the Lions and protecting the lead.
Details Trouble
In a disturbing continuing trend, the Dolphins continue to hurt themselves with penalties, turnovers and losing the special teams battle.
The penalties in the first half on the defense were mental mistakes while there were plenty on the offense all game long.
The Lions caught the Dolphins with a fake punt that led to a field goal and Braylon Sanders fumbled with the Dolphins in scoring range. These are all areas they'll need to clean up in the second half of the season.
Injury Issues
As the list of players out of the lineup piles up the Dolphins suffered another big blow.
Guard Liam Eichenberg had to leave the field on a cart. He was settling in on the left side of the line in his 2nd season. The biggest problem is the decimated secondary without any relief in sight.
But every team gets banged up and those that have the depth are the teams that survive and thrive.
