Winning streaks are on the line Sunday afternoon at Ford Field between two of the hotter teams in the NFL.
The Detroit Lions (6-2) and Miami Dolphins (5-3) meet after finishing up the first half of their seasons with three straight victories. The Lions knocked off Minnesota, New Orleans and Atlanta before taking a week off. The Dolphins are coming road victories over Chicago and Jacksonville before last week's 37-0 rout at home of San Diego.
Something has to give.
Here are three storylines to follow plus a prediction:
--- If there's one glaring weakness that the Lions need to address entering the second half of the season, it's the run game. They rank 31st out of 32 teams while averaging 79.6 rushing yards per game. The only team that's worse? The Oakland Raiders, to whom you never want to be compared.
The goal is to average at least 4 yards per carry, but Reggie Bush is averaging just 3.5 (down from 4.5 last year) and Joique Bell is at 3.2 (down from 3.9).
The Lions have gained 100 yards on the ground in a game only twice. In the last two, they ran for 60 yards against Atlanta and 59 against New Orleans.
"It's the running backs, the offensive line, the tight ends, the receivers, it's everybody collectively," Bush said. "It takes 11 guys to run the football.
"It's a little bit of the running back being patient and taking the proper steps, little things the average person may not notice: the receivers blocking, the offensive line knowing who to get and knowing how to block them."
The return of receiver Calvin Johnson could have a domino-like effect for the run game. Megatron's presence should only help free up some running lanes for the backs.
At least that's what Bush hopes.
"Not having Calvin in there makes a big difference," Bush said. "There's a lot of things defenses can't do to us when Calvin is out there. They can't bring an extra guy (safety) in the box. He's a running back's best friend. Even if he's just a decoy, it's great for the run game."
Johnson will help, but it's still on the offensive line and running backs to get the job done.
"We all understand that we have to be better," Bush said. "Our run game has to improve. From the running back's standpoint, from an offensive line standpoint and blocking standpoint, we just have to be better all around."
--- After allowing 24 sacks in the first seven games, the Lions did a much better job protecting quarterback Matthew Stafford in their victory over Atlanta before the bye.
The Falcons had no sacks and only one quarterback hit.
"We're trying to build on that," center Dominic Raiola said.
The offensive line, such a pleasant surprise a year ago, took a step back for much of the first half of this season. Now they're being doubted.
"We're back to proving ourselves," Raiola said.
They'll get a big test this week facing the Dolphins, who are ranked No. 3 in total defense, and No. 2 in both pass defense and takeaways.
Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon make up one of the league's top defensive-end duos. Wake has 6 1/2 sacks and Vernon 4 1/2.
"It's a physical, attacking front," Raiola said. "The front seven is as good as we're going to see this year."
The Dolphins have 25 sacks, which ranks fifth in the league and is two more than what Detroit has with its talented and highly-publicized defensive line.
The onus will be on Lions offensive tackles Riley Reiff, a former first-round pick who has struggled in his third NFL season, and LaAdrian Waddle, an undrafted second-year surprise who is expected to return to the lineup after missing a game because of a concussion.
Lions coach Jim Caldwell went so far as to compare Wake to seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney, who had double-digit sacks in seven seasons.
"He's one of those compact, powerful and fast individuals that creates havoc," Caldwell said of Wake. "Similar to Dwight Freeney. I'm not saying he's Dwight, but he's got those kind of traits in terms of explosiveness."
--- Since gaining a reputation for being injury-prone when his ailing knees allowed him to play a total of 19 games combined in 2011 and 2012, safety Louis Delmas now has a streak of 24 consecutive games played.
He appeared in all 16 last year with the Lions and hasn't missed a game this year for the Dolphins. He's even been practicing on a daily basis, which he never did a year ago with Detroit.
For Delmas, this will be a homecoming. He played in college at Western Michigan and then spent his first five years in the NFL with the Lions, who drafted him in the second round in 2009 before releasing him last winter.
Delmas, known for bringing a lot of emotion to the Lions' secondary, is downplaying this meeting against his former team.
"It's just another road game for me," Delmas told reporters in Miami. "My times in Detroit are done. I don't hold grudges or anything like that. It's business. I'm going to go up there and play football like we do each and every week."
Some of his old teammates are totally buying it.
"Knowing Lou, he'll probably be a little fired up for this game, coming back to Detroit," Lions safety Glover Quin said.
Delmas is the type who if you don't see, you'll hear. He's a chatter box and should be at his trash-talking best.
"He's definitely going to talk," Johnson said. "I'm looking forward to it."
Two weeks ago, Delmas was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after he returned an interception 81 yards for a touchdown and recovered a fumble against Jacksonville.
PICK:
Miami +2 1/2
(Dye's season prediction record: 4-4).
