It wasn’t the prettiest win you’ll ever see from this team, but the Detroit Lions beat the Miami Dolphins 19-9 in Week 9. That makes four straight wins for the Lions, who now head to Germany to face a New England Patriots team I still can’t figure out. Is New England good? I honestly don’t know yet. Its game against the Green Bay Packers should tell us more.

Coming into this one, the concern was the Dolphins’ pass rush. Miami pressured Drake Maye on 57.1% of his dropbacks last week while blitzing only once. That’s real pressure, and it was going to test Jared Goff. Then Dan Campbell made the odd choice of starting Miles Frazier at left guard over Christian Mahogany. Mahogany wasn’t on the injury report all week, and he was dressed and on the field for field goal attempts. That pointed to something disciplinary, and it turned out to be exactly that.

Now on to our winners and losers.

The winners

Chuck Clark

Clark had a phenomenal game. He came up with a big interception and finished as the highest-graded player in the entire game with a 90 instant grade from Pro Football Focus. Those aren’t the full grades yet, but the point stands.

This is exactly why I keep telling Lions fans they don’t need to trade for Budda Baker or any other safety. Clark and Brian Branch, who also played well, are more than capable. Kerby Joseph is getting closer, and Keith Abney is on the roster too. The safety room is fine. Cornerback is a different story. I think Detroit makes a move before the 4 p.m. ET deadline Tuesday, and I’d understand fans being upset if it didn’t, four-game winning streak or not.

Derrick Moore

We’ve been waiting to see more of the rookie, and with D.J. Wonnum out with a concussion, this was his chance. Moore played a career-high 33 snaps and finished with four pressures and two sacks. It nearly should have been three. He had Malik Willis dead to rights in the third quarter and couldn’t wrap him up, though the pressure still forced an incompletion.

When Wonnum returns, he should stay the starter. He’s a veteran who has played well. Still, Moore deserves more snaps, and some could come from Tyler Lacy. Lacy is good at what he does, and he only played 22 snaps in this one. The Lions should go headlong into seeing what Moore can become.

Malcolm Rodriguez

Maybe you didn’t notice him, but Rodriguez played his butt off. He logged 55 snaps at the WILL linebacker spot and posted a 76.4 instant grade with a 79.4 in coverage. He was targeted twice, allowed one catch for 8 yards, broke up a pass, and made five tackles.

Everyone is worried about the linebackers without Jack Campbell, one of the best in the league, and that’s understandable. Rodriguez was great, Derrick Barnes played well enough, and Trevor Nowaske was fine despite a few struggles. If I’m Detroit, though, I’m still asking Miami what it wants for Jordyn Brooks while I’m in town.

Jake Bates

This was a kicker-driven game for both teams, and Bates hit every kick he needed to. Jahmyr Gibbs found the end zone for the only touchdown, and Bates handled the rest. On the other side, Zane Gonzalez missed a field goal, and Miami punter Bradley Pinion had a rough day, fake punt aside.

The punters

Any time a punter completes a fake, that’s job security. Jack Fox punted well, as usual, and threw a strike to pick up a first down. It was the Lions’ first successful fake punt since September 2024. You might remember they got stuffed trying one against the Eagles last season. Back in 2022 and 2023, it felt like these happened every week. This one came out of nowhere, and it worked.

The losers

Christian Mahogany

Here’s the answer we were waiting on. Per Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News, Dan Campbell said Christian Mahogany didn’t play today because of disciplinary team rules.

We don’t know what rule he broke, and I doubt the Lions will ever say. It had to be significant, though. Every team handles this differently, but discipline usually means sitting out a series or a quarter. Mahogany sat the entire game outside of special teams, and the offense noticeably missed him. With a big game against the Patriots next, Mahogany and the Lions need to get this right.

Miles Frazier

Part of me says you can’t fully blame Frazier, since we don’t know how much first-team work he got this week. Still, it was a rough day. PFF gave him a 36.1 overall grade, a 42.5 run-blocking grade, and a 48.8 pass-blocking grade. PFF charged him with only one pressure, but I don’t believe that. Miami clearly targeted the new guy.

To be clear, I’m not saying get rid of Frazier. He’s young, he needs to grow, and there’s value in having him as a backup. He just shouldn’t be starting.

Keith Abney

Abney had been playing well, but he only saw six snaps. This felt like his last big swing at safety for a while. My hunch is that Joseph returns against the Patriots, either activated on Saturday, the 18th day of his window, or right after Germany. With Clark and Branch playing well, plus Christian Izien and possibly Thomas Harper down the line, the snaps get scarce. I still think the Lions have something with Abney at safety, though trying him at corner again might have value.

My fantasy team

I have Goff, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta, and I got nothing from them. I know Lions fans are devastated. But if I win my fantasy Super Bowl, maybe the Lions win the real one.

On to Germany and the trade deadline. We’ll see.

Detroit Lions News

5 things we learned from the Detroit Lions’ ugly win over Miami, including one bizarre coaching decision that needs answers

Mike Payton 52 minutes ago