The Detroit Lions tally their fifth consecutive loss on Sunday, dropping an early lead to the Miami Dolphins 31-27.

With a promising start, a slew of penalties and a halt of ball movement shut down the offense in the second half. In addition to a lack of points added to the scoreboard, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle proved to be too much for the Lions defense to handle.

Here are my takeaways:

Offense

After not scoring a touchdown since Week 4, the offense bounced back, recording three touchdowns in just the first half. Jared Goff was a force to be reckoned with, completing 18 of 25 targets for 264 yards. He utilized all the tools in his belt, hitting nine different players. In his 90th career start, the quarterback surpassed Derek Carr for the 3rd most completions in NFL history in a player’s first 90-career starts.

D’Andre Swift returned to the field today after missing three consecutive games with a shoulder injury. While his touches were limited, the running back produced 32 total yards through 6 carries and 5 receptions and a touchdown. Swift’s 20 career TD are the 5th most by any Lions running back in their first three seasons. Amon-Ra St. Brown also put in work with 7 catches for 69 yards.

Jamaal Williams continues to impress. After a fumble at the goal line last week, the running back redeemed himself with not one, but two rushing touchdowns on the day. Williams had 10 carries for 53 yards and tallied 3 catches for an additional 23 yards. His eight rushing touchdowns are the most in franchise history through the first seven games of any season.

While the first half was a well-oiled offense, that wasn’t the case in the second half. The Lions struggled to get down the field. Penalties played a huge factor, limiting Goff and the offense to long third down attempts.

Defensive Inconsistencies

Secondary showed some poise early in the first quarter. It was all downhill from there. Rookie safety Kerby Joseph forced a fumble, but other than that, every safety and corner missed interceptions and struggled against the speed of the Dolphins.

Detroit’s pass rush was abysmal against Miami. The only players to get tackles for a loss and quarterback hits were linebackers, safeties and corners. Aidan Hutchinson was able to create pressure, but he was late on nearly every snap.

Ben Johnson’s Playbook

Ben Johnson continues to keep everyone on their toes with his play calling. On the Lions first 4th down in the second quarter, he sent out Jack Fox assuming a punt, but no, queue a trick play. The fake punt resulted in a 13-yard rush by Lions safety C.J. Moore. The offensive coordinator managed to put the ball in ten different players hands.\

Player Highlights

Kerby Joseph produced his 2nd consecutive forced fumble. He is only the second rookie DB in the NFL to force a fumble in consecutive games since 2000.

Malcolm Rodriguez recorded his first-career sack and first-career fumble recovery in the same series in the first quarter of the game. He is the third Lions rookie LB since 1999 to produce at least 5 TFL’s, 1 sack, and 1 fumble recovery in their debut season.

Juju Hughes recorded his first-career sack.

Michael Badgley was 100% on extra points and field goal attempts today. His longest from 42-yards.

Up Next for the Detroit Lions

The Lions will host the Green Bay Packers in a Week 9 matchup at Ford Field next Sunday.

Maddy Miller – Detroit Lions Beat Reporter

On Twitter: @madelynvmillerr

Photo Credit-AP