The Miami Dolphins leave Detroit with a 31-27 victory over the Lions and get to 5-3. While the game started out with the Dolphins down 14-0, the offense and defense made the necessary adjustments.
Credit to Mike McDaniel and defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, who must’ve had productive halftime speeches, as the defense didn’t give up a single point in the second half and allowed a mere 67 total yards of Lions offense.
Offensively, Tua Tagovailoa had the highest-rated passing game of his career (138.7 passer rating). Additionally, Tagovailoa now has at least a 90 passer rating in each of the five games that he’s started and finished this season.
This is tied for their best eight-game start in the past decade, as Miami started the 2014 and 2020 seasons 5-3 as well. McDaniel’s start is the second-best by a new coach in team history. Only Dave Wannstedt, who started his tenure in 2000 at 6-2, had a better record after eight games.
Here are a few stats, news and notes from the Dolphins’ Week 8 victory: