The Miami Dolphins lost to the New England Patriots in Week 8 and face a tough test in Week 9 as they try to bounce back against the Detroit Lions. This season, the Dolphins are focused on improving each week and laying the foundation for future success. While they sit at 1-6 for the year, they fight every week, playing hard until the final whistle, a good sign for a team with 14 rookies and in the midst of a complete franchise rebuild.
The Lions enter the Week 9 game with a 5-2 record and look like a team that could make a deep run in the NFC playoffs. After a disappointing 9-8 record in 2025 that led to a fourth-place finish in the NFC North, Detroit is looking to return to the form that brought them back-to-back division titles in 2023 and 2024. The NFC North is a tough division, however, with all four teams above the .500 mark and having won at least five times this season.
How will Sunday’s game play out? This looks like a game that could get away from the Dolphins, a byproduct of how opposite their 2026 trajectory is. The oddsmakers at FanDuel Sportsbook, however, seem to think that this game might be a bit tighter than expected.
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Over the past two weeks, I’ve been right in my prediction of the Dolphins beating the Jets straight up, and Miami losing to New England but covering the spread. This week, I’m not too bullish on the Dolphins’ chances. The Lions are the better team in this matchup, and I think they’ll cover the 6.5-point spread, even with the injuries they’re dealing with. Miami will play the Lions hard, and they can keep it close for most of the game, but in the end, I think the Lions will pull away.
All-time touchdown scorer: Ollie Gordon II
The Dolphins’ running game ran into a speedbump against the Patriots. After averaging 125 yards rushing in their last five games, Miami was held to just 74 yards in Week 8. They need to correct that in Week 9. It won’t be easy, Detroit has the ninth-ranked rush defense in the league, allowing just 96.6 yards per game. The Dolphins need to be intentional about getting Gordon the ball, keep feeding him even when they get stuffed early, and make it a physical game. In the end, I think Gordon will find the endzone at least once in this game and this prop hits.
Sam LaPorta receiving yards: 48.5
Miami has struggled to cover tight ends this season, and they face another that could cause LaPorta problems. They allowed four tight ends to pass the 48.5-yard mark (TJ Hockenson, 119 yards; George Kittle, 80 yards; Mason Taylor, 62 yards; Travis Kelce, 59 yards) and would have had five on that list had Hunter Henry not been injured in the Patriots’ second quarter game (30 yards on reception). Unless Miami has a different scheme to handle the tight end, LaPorta’s 49-yard run is likely a reception.
Chris Bell longest reception: 13.5
Bell is averaging 12.3 yards per catch, but the rookie hasn’t been a major target in the passing game – where Malik Washington has nearly doubled the targets, nearly tripled the receptions, and more than doubled the yards. Bell was targeted more than fellow rookie Caleb Douglas — in part because Douglas missed three games with an injury — but Douglas had one more reception and nearly 80 more yards than Bell. Miami has been playing well with Bell, who tore his ACL less than a year ago, but has depressed some of his stats this season. The flashes are there, and Miami will need him to flash in this game if they’re going to pull off the upset. His longest reception this season was for a 44-yard gain, so the potential for a big play is there. He might not get that much in this game, but a 14-yard reception seems out of reach.
All odds are provided by FanDuel Sportsbook.