This offseason, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell promised that Jahmyr Gibbs was taking the next step this year and becoming the team’s bell-cow back. The Lions followed by putting their money where their mouth is, making Gibbs the highest-paid running back in football.
On Sunday, with former RB2 David Montgomery in Houston and current RB2 Isiah Pacheco on injured reserve, Campbell and new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing followed through on that promise. Gibbs played 57 of 77 offensive snaps (74%,
fifth-highest percentage in his career), rushed the ball 29 times (career high), and added five catches for 34 total touches (career high).
Gibbs made the most of those opportunities, creating 186 yards of offense, two touchdowns, and 12 missed tackles forced.
While some were just able to enjoy that performance, others showed concern that the Lions were in danger of overusing their biggest offensive weapon. But when Campbell was faced with that criticism, he wasn’t hearing it.
“You know what I like? Winning the game, man, and we were going to win this game. That guy’s our hot hand,” Campbell said.
He quickly followed that up, noting that Gibbs’ workload will be something they continue to monitor this season. But on Sunday, he was the right player to ride. That may not be the case every week.
“Ultimately, do I want to set records with how many carries? No, that’s not something I want to do,” Campbell said. “When you look at a guy, and you feel like, ‘Alright, man.’ He’s in good shape. I mean, he had a really good camp, and he is in phenomenal shape. He’s in the best shape I’ve seen since he’s been here. Now that doesn’t mean we’re not going to monitor, and we’re going to keep an eye on this guy because we understand that too, but we did what we had to do today.”
To the surprise of no one, Gibbs didn’t mind the extra workload. He even suggested he could’ve taken more.
“I feel fine,” Gibbs said, per Detroit Football Network. “I could have taken 40 today.”
Gibbs was valuable all game, but he really came alive in what would be Detroit’s game-winning drive in overtime. He touched the ball six times for 35 yards, including rushes of 11 and 10 yards.
“He’s a beast,” Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said. “You watch what he does—that whole last drive, he damn-near took us down all the way. It was Jahmyr, Jahmyr, Jahmyr, Jahmyr, Jamo, me.”
There are not many who can outwork, outlast, or outcome St. Brown on the field. But even he was in awe of Gibbs’ endurance on Sunday.
“He never gets tired. I don’t know how he does it,” St. Brown said. “He’s running the ball every play, catching it out of the backfield. He still—I’m looking at him in the huddle and he’s not even breathing hard. I don’t know how he does it. But we’re lucky, I’m so lucky to play with him. We’re lucky to have him on our team, and we’re going to need him throughout this whole year.”
