Protect the football and it should fix everything.That seems to be the viewpoint of Mike McCarthy Matt Prater Jersey , whose Green Bay Packers have a variety of issues that have led to a 2-2-1 start.“The big part of that game is focusing on the things we can control,” McCarthy said Monday, one day after his team lost at Detroit, 31-23 after digging itself a 24-0 hole. “We have to take care of the football.”The Packers turned over the ball three times Sunday. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers lost a pair of fumbles and the ball glanced off cornerback Kevin King while he was blocking on a first-quarter punt.Green Bay didn’t force any turnovers defensively, and through five games, the Packers are minus-2 in turnover differential, having lost it eight times (six fumbles, two interceptions) while taking away the ball six times (two fumbles, four interceptions).McCarthy said he believes turnovers contributed to his team losing the field position battle; he had the Packers at minus-300 in terms of hidden yardage.While he admitted that veteran kicker Mason Crosby‘s five misses 鈥?four field-goal attempts and one extra point 鈥?also factored into Sunday’s loss, McCarthy said the Packers’ struggles went deeper than the 13 points those misses left on the field.“The common thread there is the turnovers, which obviously that rolls into the field position,” McCarthy said, pointing out that Green Bay outgained Detroit 521 yards to 264. “Obviously we missed some field goals and so forth. (But) the fact of the matter is, I was very pleased with how we moved the football.”In three of their games this season, the Packers have trailed by double-digits: 20-0 early in the third quarter against Chicago, 28-10 at halftime at Washington, and 24-0 at halftime Sunday.Rodgers took much of the blame publicly after the game, acknowledging Sam Martin Jersey , “I’ve got to play better in the first half.”“It’s frustrating. We’ve been kind of a one-half team: one good half and one not-so-good half,” said Rodgers, who finished the game completing 32 of 52 passes for 442 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions (108.0 passer rating). “I was a little off. I missed a couple I usually hit. We missed some opportunities there.“(It was) definitely a disjointed game 鈥?not punting, putting up a lot of offense and not winning the game.”The offense hasn’t been the only side of the ball that’s been disjointed.Against Washington, for example, Green Bay gave up 323 yards in the first half, and only 63 in the second. Against the Lions, the defense allowed 160 of 264 yards and 24 of their 31 points in the first half.“We need to put a whole full game together,” safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix said Monday. “Making more plays, finishing tackles, making this defense better. If we can critique ourselves and figure out what we can do better as individuals, I think we’ll be better as a whole.“As DBs, the one thing we want to do is catch interceptions, and capitalize on the opportunities we get. This is a long season. We’ve got to take advantage of our opportunities when we get them, and when they come, they come in bunches. We just have to make plays when the time comes.”The Packers also have struggled with penalties, committing 12 for 112 against Detroit. For the season, Green Bay has committed 43 penalties for 413 yards; the Packers’ opponents have been flagged only 30 times for 262 yards.“Whether it’s a slow start Calvin Johnson Jersey , fast finish, loose in the middle, it’s all irrelevant because if you don’t take care of the football, there’s going to be other negative statistics that come off of that,” McCarthy said. “This is not a getting-close-enough type of sport. We get that. We didn’t win the game.“It’s part of the challenge in the early season. We have to get a little more detailed. The penalties were another negative. But taking care of the football and the penalties was a huge part of our not reaching the goal we set out to accomplish.”___ The Detroit Lions are coming off the bye and heading into their litmus test portion of the season. No one really knows what to think of the Lions right now, with two big wins on their resume, but those three ugly losses loom large. The next seven games for the Lions are against teams that are .500 or better, meaning we’re about to find out who this team is in a hurry. First up on the block is the Miami Dolphins, an equally confusing team. Let’s get to know them a little better. Miami DolphinsLast season6-10 record (3rd in AFC East)28th in points scored, 29th in points allowedOverall DVOA: 27th (27th on offense, 28th on defense)2018 offseasonKey free agent additions: WR Danny Amendola, RB Frank Gore, WR Albert Wilson, G Josh Sitton (IR), C Daniel Kilgore (trade)Key losses: WR Jarvis Landry, DT Ndamukong Suh, C Mike Pouncey, K Cody Parkey 2018 NFL draft picks:Round 1 Womens Zach Zenner Jersey , 11 overall - DB Minkah FitzpatrickRound 2, Pick 42 - TE Mike GesickiRound 3, Pick 73 - LB Jerome BakerRound 4, Pick 123 - TE Durham SmytheRound 4, Pick 131 - RB Kalen BallageRound 6, Pick 209 - CB Cornell ArmstrongRound 7, Pick 227 - LB Quentin PolingRound 7, Pick 229 - K Jason SandersDespite a puzzling 6-10 record, the 2017 Miami Dolphins were not good. They had the fourth worst point differential and their DVOA numbers were all towards the bottom of the league. So this year, the team went out and tried to fix one of their bigger issues: the offensive line. They moved on from long-time center Mike Pouncey and traded for Daniel Kilgore. They also added veteran guard Josh Sitton to the starting five. Unfortunately, both Pouncey and Kilgore have suffered major injuries, and both on on IR.However, the Dolphins’ biggest addition thus far has been Albert Wilson, who just had a breakout game against the Bears. Wilson joins 2015 first-round pick DeVante Parker, 2016 sixth-round pick Jakeem Grant and 2015 trade acquisition Kenny Stills to form one of the most underrated receiving units in the league.To improve defensively—and make up for the loss of Suh—the Dolphins have focused on their back end. For the third straight year, the Dolphins spent a third-round pick or higher on a cornerback, this time Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick.2018 season thus far (4-2)Week 1: Win over Titans, 27-20Week 2: Win at Jets Kenny Golladay Jersey White , 20-12Week 3: Win over Raiders, 28-20Week 4: Loss at Patriots, 7-38Week 5: Loss at Bengals, 17-27Week 6: Win over Bears, 31-28 (OT)Stats:22nd in points scored, 17th in points allowed6th in DVOA (15th on offense, 9th on defense, 3rd on special teams)There’s nothing flashy about this Dolphins team, and it seems puzzling they are 4-2 thus far. Al four of their wins were by a single possession, but their two losses were both by double-digits. Their wins are over some mediocre-to-bad talents, but their losses are to some very good teams in the AFC. In terms of point differential, the Dolphins are bad. In act, they’re worse than the Lions at -15 (20th). But those DVOA numbers—sixth best in the league—tell a different story, and it’s not really clear why.The team isn’t moving the ball all that well overall on offense. They’re 30th in yards per drive and 28th in points per drive, according to Football Outsiders.They’re a little better on defense, but not by much. They’re 25th in yards per drive allowed, and seventh in points per drive allowed. Wait... back up there. Seventh in points allowed... let me crunch some numbers.Okay, here’s the deal. The Dolphins have been winning games by playing the field position game. They rank sixth in starting field position on offense Womens Kenny Golladay Jersey , averaging drives starting on the 30.7-yard line. Defensively, they also rank sixth, with an average starting position at the 26-yard line. How are they winning the field position battle? Special teams and turnovers. Let’s start with special teams. They’re 14th in net punting average, which is just okay, but they’ve pinned opposing teams inside the 20 14 times, good for fifth most. In terms of returning, they’re lethal. Meet Jakeem Grant. Grant already has a punt and kick return touchdown, leading to the Dolphins ranking third in punt returns (15.7) and second in kickoff returns (32.8).Then there’s that improved secondary. The Dolphins lead the league in interceptions (11), and that will do wonders for your field position. Unfortunately for the Detroit Lions, there’s not one player the Lions need to worry about. Six different players have recorded an interception, including first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick.So, in my opinion, this is a below average team that is overperforming right now. They’re not horrible—and their offensive weapons pose a legitimate threat for big plays—but some regression is in order. If the Lions can avoid allowing big plays on special teams (no easy task given how Detroit’s special teams units have looked so far), and Matthew Stafford avoids turnovers, this is a more than winnable game for Detroit. Vegas line for Sunday: Dolphins by 4 Lions by 2.5