Jahmyr Gibbs didn’t waste any time showing what life looks like in Detroit without David Montgomery. In the Lions’ 31-30 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Gibbs shouldered a massive load and answered with the kind of day that puts a spotlight on just how much the offense may run through him now.
He carried the ball 29 times for 156 yards and two touchdowns, then added five catches for 30 yards. After 34 total touches, Gibbs said his body was fine, even if the workload was unmistakably heavy.
“I’m just trying to help the team win no matter what that looks like,” Gibbs said.
With Montgomery now with the Houston Texans, Gibbs has become the clear focal point of Detroit’s backfield. First-year offensive coordinator Drew Petzing leaned on him right away in Week 1, and Gibbs handled it. The Lions didn’t hide from him when the game tightened up, either.
Dan Campbell said the plan is not necessarily for Gibbs to get 29 carries every week. Still, when the outcome was in the balance, the Lions weren’t about to pull the ball from their best weapon.
Gibbs punched in both of his touchdowns on 1-yard runs, and his second score pushed Detroit out to a 14-0 lead in the third quarter.
The production also moved Gibbs into some rare NFL territory. His 51st career touchdown came in just his 50th game, making him the sixth player in league history to reach 50 touchdowns in his first 50 games. The others: Chuck Foreman, Steve Van Buren, Jim Brown, Larry Johnson and Marcus Allen.
He also became the first Lions running back since Billy Sims in 1980 to post at least 150 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a season opener.
Even with that kind of stat line, Campbell still saw more room for Gibbs to break bigger plays, pointing to a few runs that came close to becoming explosive gains.
Detroit made Gibbs a major part of its future during training camp with a three-year, $67.5 million extension, and Week 1 made the message plain. He’s central to what the Lions want to be.
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Lions Escape Saints But A Bigger Concern Just Took Center Stage
The Lions left New Orleans with a win, but it came with enough rough edges to keep the postgame conversation grounded. Detroit leaned on Jahmyr Gibbs, who handled a heavy workload and responded with 156 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while the defenses pass rush did its part with five sacks and special teams chipped in with several key tackles.
The bigger worry was hard to ignore, though, because the secondary spent much of the afternoon under stress and surrendered 400 passing yards. Jameson Williams also had multiple drops, adding to the sense that this was a game Detroit survived more than it controlled, even if the overtime result still counts the same in the standings. [Read more 🡒]
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Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira said the key was the forward intent in Goffs motion, which made the ball a pass rather than a loose fumble. Even with the explanation in hand, the ruling quickly turned into a talking point for fans and commentators, who were left debating how the play should have been judged in real time. [Read more 🡒]
Jared Goff Saints Ruling Had Lions Fans Wondering What Actually Happened
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NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth later walked through the reasoning and pointed to the league rulebook, which is often what turns a confusing live moment into a postgame debate. For Lions fans, the ruling mattered less as a one-play curiosity than as another reminder of how thin the line can be between a broken-up pass and a turnover, especially when the quarterback is hit right as the play is unfolding. [Read more 🡒]