16299428-standard.jpg

Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, right, brings down Miami tailback Lamar Miller during Sunday's win against the Dolphins. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions have been the NFL's top-rated defense nearly wire to wire, which indicates they are pretty good at pretty much everything.

But they've been especially stout against the run, ranking among the top three for much of the season. They are currently second at 71.3 yards allowed per game, which trails only Denver.

Then they lost defensive tackle Nick Fairley, their best run-stuffer, to a knee injury against the Falcons. And there was uncertainty over whether the Lions' defense would take a hit.

Turns out, not much at all.

Ndamukong Suh stuffed Miami tailback Lamar Miller for a 2-yard loss on the first play of Sunday's win against the Dolphins, then sacked quarterback Ryan Tannehill for a 10-yard loss on the next.

"They singled blocked (Suh) on one, and he ends up coming down the line making a huge play," coach Jim Caldwell said. "That whole first series, he was all over the place.

"The next series, they double-teamed him."

Things didn't get much better for the Dolphins. They entered the game averaging 137.3 rushing yards per game, and 4.8 per carry, but finished with just 50 yards -- and 2.6 per carry -- against Detroit.

They picked up just one first down on their 17 zone reads. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who had been averaging 12.4 yards on those plays this season, was held to minus-3 total against Detroit.

And that's all against a Dolphins team that ranked fifth in rushing entering the game. (They ranked 10th after it.)

The Lions continue to pound every team that tries to run against them. Consider some of these numbers:

-- Detroit's nine opponents so far this season average 114.4 rushing yards per game. But they managed only 71.3 per game against the Lions. That's a 37.7 percent dip in production.

-- Detroit has held each of its opponents below their season rushing average.

-- Eight of the Lions' nine opponents average more than 100 yards rushing when they don't face Detroit. But only the Jets hit triple-digits against the Lions. (And they were still held below their season average.)

-- The Lions have allowed only four rushing touchdowns all season, and just one in the past five games. Perhaps most astonishing: They've allowed only one rushing touchdown of longer than 2 yards all season.

That's some devastatingly good defense.

Why have the Lions been so good against the run, no matter who is hurt or what team they're playing?

"First of all, I think they're real fine technicians," Caldwell said. "They know what to do in key situations. I think they have guys that coach them extremely well. (Defensive line assistants) Jim Washburn and Kris (Kocurek) do a tremendous job with them. Scheme wise, Teryl (Austin) does a great job, but he uses the things that they do well.

"There is an unusual amount of cohesiveness and camaraderie amongst that group. They run to the ball, they hustle and we have enough people that no one has to get taxed physically. We can rotate them in and out of there. You see a bevy of guys in there. You look up and you may see (Darryl) Tapp and (Andre) Fluellen in there and Devin (Taylor). As a matter of fact, Devin came in and did some nice things for us."

Here's a game-by-game breakdown of how the Lions' rush defense has fared:

-- The Giants average 104.2 rushing yards per game this season, and 110.6 against everyone besides Detroit. They ran for 53 yards against Detroit, including a 1-yard touchdown from Rashad Jennings.

-- The Panthers average 95.4 rushing yards per game, and 111.5 against everyone besides Detroit. They ran for 62 yards against Detroit, including a 2-yard touchdown from Jonathan Stewart.

-- The Packers average 101.3 yards per game, and 104.5 against everyone besides Detroit. They ran for 76 yards against Detroit, and no touchdowns.

-- The Jets average 140.9 rushing yards per game, and 141.9 against everyone besides Detroit. They ran for 132 yards against Detroit, including a 35-yard touchdown run from Chris Johnson.

-- The Bills average 100.2 rushing yards per game, and 106.6 against everyone besides Detroit. They ran for 49 yards against Detroit, and no touchdowns.

-- The Vikings average 119.3 rushing yards per game, and 125.6 against everyone besides Detroit. They ran for 69 yards against Detroit, and no touchdowns.

-- The Saints average 130.2 rushing yards per game, and 137.4 against everyone besides Detroit. They ran for 73 yards against Detroit, and no touchdowns.

-- The Falcons average 97.2 rushing yards per game, and 99.6 against everyone besides Detroit. They ran for 78 yards against Detroit, including a 1-yard touchdown run from Steven Jackson.

-- The Dolphins average 127.6 rushing yards per game, and 137.3 against everyone besides Detroit. They ran for 50 yards against Detroit, and no touchdowns.

-- Download the Detroit Lions MLive app for iPhone and Android

-- Follow Kyle Meinke on Twitter

-- Like MLive's Detroit Lions Facebook page