MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Jeff Hafley knows what to expect when it comes to facing the Detroit Lions.
The Miami Dolphins coach spent two years preparing for Detroit as the Green Bay Packers' defensive coordinator; when asked about the challenges Detroit presents, he had to stop himself after a lengthy, detailed answer about stars such as Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta.
Ahead of their matchup with the Lions on Sunday (1 p.m., E.T., CBS), the Dolphins' gameplan is rooted in respect for the NFL's top-ranked offense.
"I think they're built the right way and they're the No. 1 offense in the NFL for a reason," Hafley said. "It's coaching, it's players, it's developing. Give coach (Dan Campbell) credit and give them credit, he's done a great job."
The Lions average 395 yards per game this season, while their 29 points per game ranks third in the league. Gibbs and St. Brown rank second and 10th in rushing and receiving yards, respectively, and Goff has thrown only one interception against 15 touchdowns.
Similar to when the Dolphins faced the 49ers in Week 2, Hafley said Sunday's game presents an "exciting" challenge for the youngest defense in the NFL.
"They could hit you from a variety of different angles, whether it's in the run game or the pass game," he said. "I view that as a challenge that we look forward to. I mean, anytime you get a chance to go up against the top offense in the league, you need to prepare and you need to rise up to the level that you're going to play against. And for a young group of guys, I think it's really exciting."
The Lions rank third in the NFL in explosive plays -- rushes of at least 10 yards and completions of at least 20 yards. Miami hopes to limit such plays by controlling time of possession and keeping the Lions' offense off the field.
Rookie left guard Kadyn Proctor is trending toward playing Sunday after missing last week's game with a concussion. He practiced fully twice by the end of the week.
Proctor was missed in Week 8; the Dolphins entered the week averaging 3.09 yards before contact per rush attempt, the second-most in the NFL. In last week's loss to the Patriots, however, they averaged a season-low 1.74 yards before contact.
Running back Ollie Gordon II said Proctor's presence will be felt.
"It's one of those things that I feel like once you've been in so many weeks with certain people, it's just boom, you mesh," Gordon said. "You mesh different, so I feel like it's one of those things we'll get back to it. It'll be us, and we'll be back to being us."
Sunday also presents an intriguing stage for the Dolphins' fledgling passing offense, which ranks 30th in yards per game this season. Detroit allows a league-high 276.6 passing yards per game, but Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis isn't ready to call Sunday an advantageous matchup.
Detroit still sacks opposing quarterbacks at the eighth-highest rate in the NFL and ultimately, Willis said, the Lions' numbers against the pass haven't stopped them from accumulating five wins this season.
"They have a couple ups and downs like everybody else in the league and they just so happen to be statistically where they're at," he said. "But they've won a lot of games. They've won more games than we have and when you put it like that, it makes you think about whether that stat is really true or not.
"So I just try to focus on continuing to try to instill the game plan, make sure we're all on the same page and try to go out there and execute."