Jahmyr Gibbs, in simple terms, saved the Detroit Lions’ season on Sunday.
The third-year back rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, and caught 11 passes for 45 yards and another touchdown. His 264 total scrimmage yards were a career-high and the second-most of any player in a single game this season.
A loss would have moved Detroit to 6-5, a considerable gap behind the 8-3 Chicago Bears and 7-3-1 Green Bay Packers. But at 7-4, they remain in striking distance with a massive Thanksgiving showdown looming against Green Bay on Thursday.
“I wasn't really thinking about carrying the team,” Gibbs said. “I just do whatever it takes to win, whatever they call me for, I'm willing to do.”
Gibbs saved the Lions' season - is that too much to ask for from him moving forward?
He sure did a lot on Sunday. Gibbs ripped off two different runs of 49 yards in regulation, one of which went for a touchdown, and then burst through a hole for a 69-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime.
On a day where a lot went wrong for the Lions, Gibbs was their saving grace.
“He’s so electric,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “For him to be able to do that to supplement some of the struggles we were having was awesome.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams both had key drops, and Williams didn’t even catch a pass. Goff was sacked three times. Jameis Winston torched the Lions’ defense for 366 yards, 156 of which went to Wan’Dale Robinson, and even caught a 33-yard touchdown pass on a trick play that saw him stiff-arm Derrick Barnes into the turf.
New York led this game the entire way through until Jake Bates tied it up with a 59-yard field goal at the end of regulation and Gibbs went for his big overtime score. In a lot of ways, they were the better team.
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But they didn’t have Gibbs.
“He’s a difference maker,” head coach Dan Campbell said. “He was. He bailed us out today in a big way.”
Still, even with Gibbs’ big day, a lot of the same issues that have plagued the Lions’ offense as of late remained. Goff and St. Brown’s connection, which still went for nine catches, 149 yards and a touchdown, looked a bit off. David Montgomery was a non-factor, and so was Williams.
In a lot of ways, it looked similar to the Lions’ loss to Philadelphia the week before: great game from Gibbs, everyone else not so much. And while it’s great for Detroit that Gibbs put the cape on and saved the day like he did, it’s also fair to wonder if the Lions are relying a bit too much on one player.
Gibbs is averaging 37 rushing yards per game on just over three yards per carry in Detroit’s four losses. When he gets shut down, the Lions have struggled to find success elsewhere. That’s concerning for such a talented offense that found so much success beating its opponents in a number of different ways last year.
Williams’ inconsistency has been well documented at this point. St. Brown bounced back on Sunday but still had some rough moments. Goff played what might’ve been his worst game as a Lion against the Eagles. And Detroit is now having to adjust to the loss of Pro Bowl tight end Sam LaPorta, out for the season with a back injury.
Gibbs is a phenomenal player, but he may not be able to propel the Lions to victory like this every week– especially as Detroit’s offensive line navigates injuries and its own fits of inconsistent play. Green Bay is up next, and they already held Gibbs to just 25 yards on nine carries back in the Lions’ bad-tasting 27-13 loss in Week 1.
The Lions won’t get to play this porous Giants run defense every week, one that has now surrendered the most rushing yards in the NFL this season. The Packers, by comparison, are one of the best defenses in the league, and they’ve already shut Gibbs down once.
Detroit, even without LaPorta, is stocked with playmakers on offense. If they can’t get the whole ensemble going soon, it could be their undoing, especially if the defense continues to struggle like it did on Sunday. But the important thing for the Lions right now is that they’re still in position to make a run at the division title.
And they have the man they call “Sonic” to thank for that. We’ll see if Knuckles and the rest of the gang can feed off of it.