On Wednesday (Aug. 13), the Detroit Lions took all the spotlight from the Miami Dolphins in their joint practice, dominating their defense with an electric offense. It was a lopsided show, to say the least. But it became a fuel for Miami to come back on Day 2 even stronger and shock Detroit to the core, all of this as injuries pile up on the Lions’ roster day after day. On Thursday, Miami flipped the script. From the moment the 7-on-7 period began, the Lions were met with aggressive coverage, quick closes on the ball, and sideline energy that told you this was a response day.
Miami didn’t take long; the first snaps set the tone. It started with two quick passes from Jared Goff that went nowhere, swallowed up almost immediately by the Miami defenders. The next two throws sailed incomplete to Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond. Miami’s sideline was disrupted play after play, feeding a defense that had been stung and dominated just 24 hours earlier. However, the Lions finally broke through late in the drill, when Goff connected twice with Amon-Ra St. Brown for touchdowns on the final two reps.
But those scores came after six snaps of frustration, and by then, Miami had already won the morning’s momentum battle. Yet, one news shifted all the focus from the players on the pitch to one player who wasn’t on it. Sam LaPorta, the Lions’ All-Pro tight end and one of the NFL’s most productive young pass-catchers, had been missing from drills. Head coach Dan Campbell spoke to reporters, and he confirmed the reason: “LaPorta will be down, nothing major, but he will miss a little bit of time here. We’re pretty good, though.”
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His injury? Campbell stayed silent on that part. The HC offered no specifics on the injury, calling it “not serious” but stopping short of giving it a timetable. The message was clear: the team is being careful with one of its most important offensive pieces. And if it turns out to be more serious than expected, the consequences could be dire for the Lions. In just two seasons, LaPorta has already become a central figure in Detroit’s attack. His rookie year was historic: he had 86 catches for 889 yards and scored 10 touchdowns in 17 games in his rookie season in 2023. And he was selected to play in his first Pro Bowl. Following this, he had 60 catches for 726 yards and scored 7 touchdowns in 16 games in 2024.
For a QB like Jared Goff, Sam LaPorta isn’t just another target. He’s a rhythm-setter in the short-to-intermediate passing game, a matchup nightmare for linebackers and safeties, and a reliable third-down option. Removing that from practice, even briefly, forces the offense to rewire its reads and timing. But his absence wasn’t the only alarm for the Lions. The strongest piece of their offense, their QB1, was struggling too. Perhaps the Dolphins wanted revenge.
Lions’ Jared Goff falls short in joint practice against Miami
Day 2 was a bad day for the Lions’ squad, and Jared Goff wasn’t far from the script as well. On Thursday, the Miami Dolphins came with purpose, and Detroit’s passing game was the first to feel it. From the first 7-on-7 snap, Goff was pushed into a tight shell. The Lions’ offense couldn’t find a rhythm, and Miami’s defense swarmed anything short. The first two plays were quick checkdowns to Jahmyr Gibbs, each wrapped up for minimal gain before they could even think. When Goff looked downfield the Dolphins quickly covered all the spots, resulting in an incompletion to Jameson Williams, then another to Kalif Raymond on a slant.
The Dolphins’ defense was on a roll, a huge contrast to a day before. And the Lions struggled to flip the script right away. So much so, that it wasn’t until the period’s final two snaps that Goff finally broke through, hitting Amon-Ra St. Brown for back-to-back touchdowns to salvage the session. But by then, the edge belonged to Miami, who had forced Detroit’s starting unit to score on just two of eight plays. For Goff, this wasn’t a meltdown, but it was a reminder that rhythm and confidence in joint practices can vanish quickly against a motivated defense. The checkdowns told the story: Miami dictated where the ball could go, forced shorter throws, and closed down in space before the Lions’ speed threats could get involved.
Even with Thursday’s sluggish session, it’s hard to forget what Jared Goff has done when the lights are on. The Lions’ QB is coming off a 2024 season where he posted a 111.8 passer rating, threw for 4,629 yards, 37 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions in 17 games, earning his fourth Pro Bowl nod. One choppy joint practice won’t erase that résumé; but it’s a reminder that even Pro Bowl passers can have days where the defense gets the upper hand.
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