Alim McNeill is better than ever: "I got two legs this year"

Finally, the Dolphins were inside Detroit's 10-yard line. And running back Ollie Gordon was open over the middle, with a chance at a touchdown if Malik Willis could get it to him. Then Alim McNeill came barreling up the gut, ripping past the right guard and into Willis' face. The Dolphins' first snap inside the 10 would be their last.

McNeill dropped Willis for a nine-yard loss. On the next play, he stood up the same guard on a run stuff. This is the version of Alim McNeill that changes everything for the Lions' defense. This is the version they were missing last season.

McNeill wasn't himself coming off a torn ACL. He was never going to admit it, but he didn't yet trust his right knee, which didn't yet have the same burst. There were times, in the eyes of defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, that McNeill couldn't even put his foot in the ground and plant. He was on the field out of duty to his teammates.

In 10 games last season, McNeill had one sack and 23 quarterback pressures. Through eight games this season, he's up to 5.5 sacks, a new career-high, and 34 pressures. The latter ranks second in the NFL among interior defensive lineman, per PFF.

What changed?

"I got two legs, that’s all it was," McNeill said on the Lions' postgame show after their 19-9 win over the Dolphins. "I had to get back healthy. I wasn’t where I wanted to be last year, and it was what it was, but I’m back this year. I told everybody there’s no excuses. I was gonna come out here and do my thing, and I’m just trying to stay consistent. Not trying to do too much, too much extra, just trying to do my job and then some. I got two legs this year. That’s what it is."

And the Lions have two game-wreckers up front. Aidan Hutchinson was kept off the sack sheet Sunday for the second game in a row, but had another pile of quarterback pressures -- while fighting through holding for most of the day -- to add to his NFL-leading total.

The final drive for the defense in Miami started with Hutchinson driving back the right tackle and forcing Willis into a throwaway. On the next snap, McNeill blew past the right guard again and nearly had another sack. Willis escaped McNeill's grasp and fled the pocket, but wound up in the arms of Derrick Moore. It was the rookie's second sack of the day. Give McNeill an assist.

Hutchinson collapsed the pocket again on third down, and a play later the defense was off the field. When Dan Campbell was asked after the game about McNeill's impact on the defense, he said, "You see it first hand. It’s a difference maker. We’ve got an edge and we’ve got a guy in the middle who can get after it."

"And we’ve got more than that, by the way, but those two guys require resources (from the offense). You have to take notice of where those two guys are at, and Mac is taking advantage of some of these (opportunities). At some point in time if you can get one of those guys a 1-on-1 somehow, someway, they gotta win, and they’re winning. Mac is winning right now," Campbell said.

Detroit's defense was historically bad in the first month. The front four was its one redeeming quality. Sheppard has begun to lean on his best unit by cutting back on the blitzes and dedicating more bodies to the back of the defense. And with the secondary playing smarter, simpler football, the Lions might have a defense to be reckoned with. They've surrendered less than 20 points in three straight games for the first time in five years.

The Dolphins had run the ball pretty effectively this season, averaging 123 yards per game and 4.4 per carry. The Lions held them to 77 yards and 3.7 per carry. Excluding a jet sweep reverse to receiver Kevin Coleman, it was 56 yards and 2.8 per carry. And they sacked Willis three times and pressured him several others.

"I’m proud of all those guys (up front) because they get after the run game and then they earn the right to get after the quarterback," said Campbell. "That's how they treat it and that’s what they’re doing right now, so Mac is huge. He’s playing some of the best football — he’s playing the best football I’ve ever seen him play. He’s locked in. He’s wired right. He’s one of our veteran guys, hard to believe. We had all these pups and now they’re full-grown man, and they’re our dudes, and they’re playing at a high level right now."

When he's rapping, McNeill goes by Alim the Dream. Last year was a nightmare. He said this summer he was still losing sleep over it. The Lions crashed to last in the NFC North and McNeill couldn't do anything to stop it, in the first year of a $97 million extension, no less. This year, he's reminding everyone why he got that deal in the first place.

"It feels good to know that I’m doing my part to the best of my ability," McNeill said recently. "That’s all the coaches ask for, is doing your job. I just wanted to make sure I was putting my best foot forward on every play, every snap, and just giving them exactly what they know I can do."

It's opposing quarterbacks who are losing sleep now.