The Detroit Lions (5-2) will travel to Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins (1-6) in Week 9, in a battle between teams in two different stages of their roster development. While the Lions have been reeling from some early season mistakes, they have strung together three wins, including back-to-back wins in their division, while the Dolphins are in the early stages of a rebuild under their latest regime.
The folks at FanDuel Sportsbook set the opening betting line on Lions -7 points.
The Dolphins made general manager and head coaching changes this offseason, firing GM Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel after four unsuccessful seasons and hiring Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new GM and former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their new coach. Like most new regimes, the new staff went to work early, cutting veteran contracts, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, and edge rusher Bradley Chubb. They also traded former first-round pick Jaylen Waddle for a trio of picks to use in the 2026 NFL Draft to help them rebuild.
The first step in establishing a new foundation was signing Malik Willis as their new signal caller—who most recently played in Green Bay with Hafley—and drafting six (!) rookie starters, including first-round picks guard Kadyn Proctor and corner Chris Johnson, as well as second-round pick linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, third-round receivers Chris Bell and Calebround Douglas, and fifth-round safety. They also have eight rookies on their 53-man roster, meaning more than 25% of the Dolphins roster (14 players) is made up of first-year players.
As you’d expect with a young roster at the start of a rebuild, the Dolphins struggled out of the gate. In Week 1, the Raiders beat them by two touchdowns; the 49ers won by three touchdowns a week later; and the Chiefs beat them by two touchdowns in Week 3. In Week 4, they showed signs of improvement, losing to the Vikings by just five points; the Bengals won just seven in Week 5, and in Week 6, they got their first win of the season, beating the Jets by three points.
On Sunday, the Dolphins and Patriots squared off in an AFC East showdown, and while the Dolphins built a 13-3 lead at the half, the Patriots scored 21 unanswered points to go up 24-13 late in the fourth quarter. Willis connected on an explosive touchdown pass at the 2-minute warning to bring them closer, but a failed 2-point conversion and a failed onside kick set the final score at 24-19.
The Lions and Dolphins are scheduled to play on Sunday, November 8 at 1 pm ET at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.