Lions vs. Dolphins odds: Opening lines for Week 9 matchup

The Detroit Lions (5-2) will travel to Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins (1-6) in Week 9, in a battle between teams at two very different stages of their roster development. While the Lions are shaking off some early-season mistakes, they’ve strung together three wins, including back-to-back wins in their division, while the Dolphins are in the early stages of a rebuild under their latest regime.

The folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook have set the opening betting line at Lions -7 points.

The Dolphins made a general manager and head coaching change this offseason, firing GM Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel after four unsuccessful seasons and hiring Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new GM and former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their new coach. Like most new regimes, the new staff got to work early, cutting veteran contracts, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, and edge rusher Bradley Chubb. They also traded away former first-round pick Jaylen Waddle for a trio of picks to use in the 2026 NFL Draft to help them with the rebuild.

Step one in establishing a new foundation was signing Malik Willis as their new signal caller—who most recently played in Green Bay with Hafley—and drafting six (!) rookie starters, including first-round picks guard Kadyn Proctor and corner Chris Johnson, as well as second-round pick linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, third-round receivers Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas, and fifth-round safety Michael Taaffe. They also have another eight rookies on their 53-man roster, meaning over 25% of the Dolphins roster (14 players) is made up of first-year players.

As you would expect with a young roster at the beginning of a rebuild, the Dolphins have struggled out of the gate. In Week 1, the Raiders beat them by two touchdowns; the 49ers won by three touchdowns the week after; and the Chiefs beat them by two touchdowns in Week 3. In Week 4, they showed signs of improvement, losing to the Vikings by only five points; the Bengals won by just seven in Week 5, and in Week 6, they got their first win of the season, beating the Jets by three points.

On Sunday, the Dolphins and Patriots squared off in an AFC East showdown, and while the Dolphins built a 13-3 lead at the half, the Patriots scored 21 unanswered points to go up 24-13 late in the fourth quarter. Willis connected on an explosive touchdown pass at the 2-minute warning to bring them close, but a failed 2-point conversion and a failed onside kick set the final score at 24-19.

The Lions and Dolphins are scheduled to play on Sunday, November 8 at 1 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lions-vs-dolphins-odds-opening-131500376.html