Everything Lions Fans Need to Know From a Dolphins Insider

The Detroit Lions have a showdown Sunday with the Miami Dolphins. After back-to-back emotional wins over NFC North opponents, the Lions must now avoid an emotional let-down and handle business against a Dolphins team that continues to improve.

Alain Poupart covers the Dolphins as the publisher of Dolphins OnSI. He recently spoke with Lions OnSI and answered five questions to preview the matchup.

1.) How would you describe the Dolphins under Jeff Hafley?

Poupart: "This might be a tricky question because the Dolphins are in the early stages of a rebuild and it’s a very, very young team that lacks talent and depth. What they have shown is they will play hard and not give up, which admittedly should be the bare minimum for any team. Stylistically, the Dolphins look like they want to be a running team and defensively they play mostly zone."

2.) What are early reviews of QB Malik Willis?

Poupart: "I think the physical attributes are pretty obvious, and have been obvious since the start of camp, but he’s still a very inexperienced QB despite having been in the league for five years. He’s also operating with a less-than-ideal supporting cast and a lot of youth, which leads to rookie mistakes like receivers running the wrong routes. His play has been a bit uneven in terms of decision-making, but he’s actually made improvement in that regard in recent games. I still think more data needs to be collected, but I would say right now there’s not a screaming need for the Dolphins to absolutely draft a quarterback near the top of the 2027 draft."

3.) Who is a player Lions fans may not know about, but should?

Poupart: "I’m going to guess Lions fans probably don’t know a lot of Dolphins players because Miami is a pretty nondescript team, so I’ll go with one of the good-looking rookies, third-round pick Caleb Douglas. He’s a wide receiver from Texas Tech who’s long and also runs very good routes. He looks like an absolute keeper for Miami."

4.) Lions fans will be watching JuJu Brents and Jordyn Brooks closely this week. Any chance Dolphins sell at the deadline next week? Are these players worth a look?

Poupart: "The Dolphins are not like other teams with bad records because this season never was about wins and losses but rather player development and evaluation. Because of that, nobody should assume they’ll be in selling mode because hanging on to players who could help in 2027 and beyond will be more valuable than marginal draft picks. The Dolphins already have done their salary cap dumps, they don’t need to do any more. So they’ll trade only if the offer because too good to pass up; for example, a second-round pick for Brooks would be hard to turn down, but I don’t see anybody offering that. Brents is a really promising-looking corner who’s had injury issues, but again the Dolphins aren’t simply going to give him away. And, yes, both players would be good additions for the Lions."

5.) How do you think the game shakes out and who wins?

Poupart: "The Dolphins are last in the NFL in pass defense and allow 76.9 completion percentage with little pass rush. I just don’t see how they stop the Lions offense. But with Kadyn Proctor coming back after missing Week 8, I think the Dolphins also can score some points. It probably won’t be enough to pull off an upset. The Lions should win, and I’m thinking something along the lines of 34-24 or 38-27."

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