ALLEN PARK -- Jameson Williams said he didn’t know jumping on the goal post was a penalty. But the Detroit Lions wide receiver owned his mistake, and has made a full note of the NFL rule.
After Williams took a 40-yard pass to the house for a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles, he jumped and straddled the goalpost in celebration.
The play resulted in a 15-yard penalty, pushing Jake Bates into a 48-yard extra-point attempt. Bates missed the kick, and instead of taking a one-point lead, the Lions and Eagles were tied at 6-6.
After the game, Campbell said he told Williams, “That’s a hell of a play. Don’t do that again.” Using the goalpost as a prop in a celebration is an automatic 15-yard penalty, in an attempt to protect the alignment of the goalposts.
Williams said he apologized to the team for his 15-yard penalty after scoring last week.
“It’s something I can control for sure, but, you know, it’s gonna move past it. It’s a new week. We got a new game, and that’s just that,” Williams said on Thursday. “Nah, I don’t know, it was a penalty. I really ain’t know it was a penalty till I sat down on the bench and I seen the field goal team going out.
“I apologized to Jake (Bates). I apologize to Jack (Fox). I apologized to coach, everybody. I ain’t look at it like that. They told me it wasn’t my fault, but I feel like it was my fault in the moment. We just got to make plays and be smarter.”
Williams wasn’t alone in that celebration. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens did the same about 24 hours later and was instantly flagged.
And that was that on the topic with Williams.
On the field, Williams has caught a touchdown pass in three consecutive games.
After an up-and-down start, Williams has 14 catches for 273 yards and three touchdowns. In the two games with Campbell calling the offense, he has 10 catches for 207 yards and two scores in those first two games.
“I feel more involved, but I’m just thinking, like, it’s part of the progression,” Williams said. “You know, it’s just part of plays. We’ve been running the same plays, nothing different. Switching it up a little bit, and it’s been coming my way. That’s the thing, you know, it’s part of progression.
“I feel like when I get a ball and it’s a little bit of space, I can make something happen. Every time I touch the ball, I’m trying to explode. So, you know, I got the mindset to break a tackle and try to get more than what I got at the catch.”
Williams was one of the few bright spots for the passing attack against the Eagles last Sunday. The Lions are counting on him and the team’s other pass-catchers to lift the offense after Sam LaPorta (back) was placed on injured reserve.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been feeding the electric wide receiver on crossing routes in recent weeks. Williams has 119 yards after the catch across his last two games, with his 58 YAC yards two weeks ago standing as his highest mark of the season.
“Everything he does has gotten better,” Goff said. “His route running, his catching, his knowledge of the game, his understanding of what we’re trying to do offensively, everything. He’s gotten better at everything. And I’ve said it a million times, anytime we get the ball out to him in space, good things happen.
“We’ve seen him take it to the house so many times. So, yeah, we’d like to keep doing that.”
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