MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — When the Detroit Lions run the ball like they did Sunday, there aren’t many offenses better in the NFL.
Rookie Kerryon Johnson ran for a career-high 158 yards on just 19 carries and the Lions had their best rushing day since 1997 in a dominant 32-21 win over the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Lions finished with 248 yards rushing, their best day on the ground since they ran for 259 yards in an Oct. 12, 1997, win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in Barry Sanders’ historic 2,000-yard season.
As well as the Lions played offensively – they averaged 7.1 yards per carry and 7.9 yards per offensive play – they still needed a 50-yard Matt Prater field goal with 1:55 to play to clinch the victory.
Jason Sanders missed a 46-yard field goal for the Dolphins on the ensuing possession, and Matthew Stafford took two knees to run out the clock.
The Lions evened their record at 3-3 with the win and remain in the thick of a crowded NFC North race. They host the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday at Ford Field, then have road division games the next two weeks against the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.
Johnson ran for 24 yards on the Lions’ first play from scrimmage, had a 71-yard carry later in the first half, and Matthew Stafford completed 18 of 22 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions.
Stafford gave the Lions a 26-14 lead late in the third quarter with his second touchdown of the game to tight end Michael Roberts, but the Lions missed a two-point try that gave the Dolphins (4-3) life.
After a Prater field goal put the Lions ahead by 15, Brock Osweiler led a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola, that brought the Dolphins within one score.
Prater, who had not made a field goal longer than 43 yards in the season’s first five games, clinched the win on the next possession, four plays after Xavien Howard was called for a questionable pass-interference penalty on a third-and-7 pass attempt to Kenny Golladay along the Lions sideline.
Stafford had a 138.1 passer rating for the day, and completed 10 of 11 passes in the first half. His lone incompletion of the half came on a third-and-2 pass intended for Golden Tate that Kiko Alonso knocked down at the line of scrimmage.
Johnson ran for 106 yards on seven carries in the first half. He became just the fourth Lions running back since Sanders’ retirement to have a gain of 70 or more yards, joining Jahvid Best, Kevin Jones and Shawn Bryson.
Roberts, playing his first game since Week 2 because of a knee injury, now has touchdowns on three of his four catches this season. He scored Sunday on plays of 15 and 4 yards.
Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!
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