DETROIT — Jahmyr Gibbs might be the NFL’s most soft-spoken superstar. He doesn’t have much to say after games.
That’s OK. His play screams louder than anyone else.
The Detroit Lions know they have one of the NFL’s best playmakers, and it’s time they ride him even harder as the season nears the finish line. Because, as Gibbs said, when he touches the ball, it can be like “whoosh.”
Gibbs stepped to the lectern after a 264-yard, three-touchdown performance in the 34-27 overtime win and laughed. He responds to questions in one-sentence bursts, just like he gashes defenses.
“We were very effective today in that aspect,” Gibbs said. “Shout out to the O-line and Dan trusting us.”
That was about that from the player who had one of the best box-score stuffing days in Detroit since Barry Sanders (1991) and Cloyce Box (1950).
Amon-Ra St. Brown remains the top target, with Jared Goff looking his way more than ever since Sam LaPorta landed on injured reserve. That will continue. But even the All-Pro recognizes Gibbs’ game-changing ways.
St. Brown said he told coaches to run the ball in overtime. He wanted to see it go off right tackle Penei Sewell’s hips, too, and the Lions answered that request.
“Sure enough, we call a play, I come to get a block, and all I hear is the crowd go loud,” St. Brown said.
That’s how fast it can happen with Gibbs.
He hit 22.17 miles per hour on his 69-yard overtime-opening touchdown, the fourth-fastest by any ball carrier this season. Gibbs owns three of the NFL’s top four speeds.
The 23-year-old (!) running back is so much more than Detroit’s big-play threat. Gibbs ran 15 times for 219 yards and two touchdowns, with 184 yards and both scores coming between the tackles.
Gibbs makes people miss with physicality. It’s not just his jaw-dropping agility. He can handle it all.
“You can tell the fear in the defense,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. “You know, the ball gets in his hands, the way they rally to him. And then certainly when he gets to the second level on some of those longer runs, like you can feel the safety, the angle they start taking.
“It’s a good feeling for us, and it’s hard for our defense.”
Dan Campbell and the Lions know they have the best one-two backfield punch in the league. David Montgomery deserves a role on this offense, especially in blitz pick-up and some short-yardage situations. But this can no longer be a 1A and 1B, because Gibbs can flip a game from disaster to a victory.
It’s been leaning that way. Now it’s time to own it.
“Man, that dude is as good as they come in our league, and he’s making his claim across our league as one of the best players, regardless of position, and we are lucky to have him, man,” Goff said.
“He’s so electric. For him to be able to do that to supplement some of the struggles we were having was awesome.”
Gibbs wasn’t just the overtime hero. His second-quarter 14-yard touchdown catch kept the Lions within striking distance during an ugly first half. In the fourth quarter, the 49-yard touchdown run answered New York’s second trick-play score.
In the first two games without LaPorta, Goff is locked on St. Brown like a homing missile. But the quarterback also knew who the hot hand was Sunday, and he kept getting the ball to Gibbs.
Of his 42 passes, 25 went toward St. Brown and Gibbs. Goff said he should have thrown to the running back less. No way, keep feeding Gibbs. When the offensive line fails to protect, check it down or swing it to him, because it’s anything but waving a white flag.
Gibbs is a legitimate cheat code who can erase 50-plus minutes of frustrating football with one touch. He needs 20-plus touches every game — something that’s happened only three times this season, all Lions wins. The Lions have discussed the balance to keep both backs fresh. But Gibbs proved last year when Montgomery went down that he can handle the bell-cow role.
“He’s electric,” Campbell said. “He’s electric and he’s a game-changer.
“He’s got the juice to make it happen. He’s got vision. He’s a difference maker. He bailed us out today in a big way.”
Campbell is three games back into calling plays. Gibbs has 582 scrimmage yards since then. If there’s any doubt on what to do when Detroit’s offense is struggling, the Lions coach is getting slapped across the face with the answer.
It’s time for the Lions to ride Gibbs for as far as he will take them. St. Brown is the go-to wide receiver, Jameson Williams is electric. And the Lions need to make good on the annual talk of Montgomery and Gibbs sharing the field together.
But Detroit’s break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option is hitting a special stride at the most crucial point. The man standing like Michael Myers in the backfield can unlock the offense on its bad days, and take it to another stratosphere when everything is clicking, or even when it’s not.
Sure, this showing came against the now 2-10 Giants. There are tougher tests ahead, including the Green Bay Packers and NFC-leading Los Angeles Rams.
Now it’s time to turn to Gibbs even more, especially Thursday against a Packers team that owned Detroit in Week 1. It’s a chance to keep pace in the division and NFC, and for Gibbs to answer one of his most forgettable showings.
Gibbs ran only nine times for 19 yards at Green Bay. He had 10 catches but gained just 31 yards, the fewest in NFL history on that many receptions. But the offensive line was a disaster, and offensive coordinator John Morton was thrown into a trial by fire in his first game.
Campbell has the keys now, and he needs to ride his Bugatti even more for the homestretch.
