The Detroit Lions won an emotional and ugly game in Miami on Sunday, beating the Dolphins 19-9 to claim a fourth straight victory in a performance dedicated to injured linebacker Jack Campbell.

Detroit's defence was playing with heavy hearts, knowing that Campbell is still in a Detroit hospital after suffering a spinal injury while making a tackle in last week's win over the Minnesota Vikings. Head coach Dan Campbell had called on his players to play in a way that would honour their leader, and the linebackers wore Campbell's No. 46 jersey to the stadium.

On a day when Detroit's offence was not at its best, the defence stepped up. The Lions held the Dolphins without a touchdown and limited them to 228 net yards of offence, as Miami's own mistakes and 11 penalties for 87 yards did much of the damage.

Jahmyr Gibbs scored the game's only touchdown, an eight-yard run on fourth-and-1 with 1:20 left in the third quarter, five snaps after Jared Goff had found Jameson Williams with a 31-yard pass. Jake Bates kicked the rest of Detroit's points, making field goals of 28, 40, 33 and 43 yards.

Derrick Moore sacked Miami quarterback Malik Willis twice, Alim McNeil sacked him once, and Aidan Hutchinson forced the Dolphins to hold him multiple times as Willis was under pressure all day. Willis finished 13 of 25 passing for 128 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception, and managed only seven rushing yards.

Goff could manage only 170 yards on 17 of 25 passing, but that was enough on a day when the Lions' defence played so well. Gibbs had 74 yards rushing on 20 carries, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, with eight catches for 86 yards, was the only Lion with more than 25 yards receiving.

It was a strange afternoon in other ways too: both punters completed passes for first downs on fake punts, and they were two of the best passes of the game on a day when neither starting quarterback played well.

Miami's rookie Chris Johnson picked up the first interception of his career in the first quarter, but the Dolphins could not turn it into points. Willis was in search of a second win as starting quarterback, but the Dolphins dropped to 1-7 and suffered a fourth straight home defeat.

The win improves the Lions' record to 6-2 and helps them keep pace in a very competitive NFC North, moving them into a second-place tie in the division. The Dolphins, meanwhile, remain in contention for the first overall pick in the 2027 NFL draft.

Detroit's schedule does not get any easier. The Lions travel to Germany next week to face the defending AFC champion New England Patriots, while the Dolphins travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts.

For Detroit, though, this one was about more than the standings. A defence that had lost its leader found a way to win for him, holding one of the league's weakest offences in check and doing just enough on the other side of the ball to keep the winning run going.