Detroit ran Arizona off its own field 45-21 on Sunday, and Jahmyr Gibbs did something no running back in NFL history has done.
Per the Lions, Gibbs passed Barry Sanders for the most touchdowns by a player under 25 in league history, reaching 57. He got there with 151 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, from three and one yard, plus five catches for 56 yards. Call it 200-plus scrimmage yards and a franchise record that belonged to the best Lion who ever played.
Sanders Is the Measuring Stick in Detroit
Every running back who has worn that uniform since 1998 has been compared to Sanders and come up short. Gibbs is not going to match the highlight reel, because almost nobody could. He is going to match the production, and he is doing it faster.
Detroit is careful to specify the under-25 framing, and that is fair. It is still a sentence with Gibbs’ name in front of Sanders’ name, which has not been available to write for a long time.
The Quieter Record Belongs to Goff
Jared Goff went 19-of-30 for 271 yards and three touchdowns with a 125.8 rating, and added a one-yard rushing touchdown of his own. Four total scores.
He also has not thrown an interception in the first five games of the season. Not one. For a quarterback whose career was defined for years by the perception that he would give the ball away in the moments that mattered, five clean games is the most interesting number on this team.
Sam LaPorta caught five balls for 88 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1. Jameson Williams caught two touchdowns, an eight-yarder on fourth-and-4 and a 39-yarder in the third quarter, his first career multi-touchdown receiving game.
Detroit Converted Fourth Downs for Scores Twice
Two of those touchdowns came on fourth down. That is a coaching staff that trusts its offense in short yardage and a quarterback who has earned that trust by not throwing the ball to the other team.
The Lions rushed for 163 yards as a team and have 20 sacks through five games, the most in franchise history through five. DJ Wonnum had two of them Sunday.
The Bye Comes at a Strange Time
Detroit is 3-2 and off in Week 6. Dan Campbell said before the game that “the most important thing is the steady climb, and that’s what we haven’t done,” which was an odd thing to hear and then watch his team score 45 points.
Arizona dropped to 1-4. Jacoby Brissett threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns on 47 attempts, which is what a losing afternoon looks like on paper.
The Lions get two weeks to sit with a 45-point road win, a running back who just passed Barry Sanders, and a quarterback playing the cleanest football of his life. Worse ways to enter a bye.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.