With the Lions facing an early deficit in Minnesota, David Montgomery limped off the field with a knee injury. On their next drive, Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for four yards to the left, then four yards to the right, then caught a pass for eight yards back to the left. Then he ran back to the right, 45 yards to the end zone.
Gibbs' touchdown got the Lions on the board and was the beginning of his best performance of the season. His dynamic day earned him a game ball from Dan Campbell, who shouted out Gibbs' 160 all-purpose yards in a jubilant locker room after Detroit's 31-29 win over the Vikings.
"Gibby’s been so close to just exploding and we felt like this was the game, and he really came to life when we needed it most," Campbell said.
Montgomery was the Lions' leading rusher through five games, by a slight margin. He was also the tone-setter on offense with his downhill demeanor. When he briefly left Sunday's game, the Lions didn't sacrifice anything on the ground. Gibbs runs hard in his own right, and is increasingly difficult to take down.
He punctuated his second touchdown, the exclamation point of Detroit's 21-0 outburst in the second quarter, by planting veteran corner Stephon Gilmore into the turf and flexing his arms. It came in very Lions-like fashion on third and seven from inside the Vikings' 10. They will run the ball whenever they want to.
"We have a great offense, we have a great coordinator, great offensive coaching staff around us, so we listen to them," said Gibbs. "And when we’re all communicating on the page, it’s going to be hard for defenses to stop us."
It's nearly impossible to stop Gibbs in the open field. He's been tripped up on a few runs that could have gone the distance in the first handful of games, his feet sometimes outracing his brain. Gibbs was gliding on his first touchdown Sunday. He flew around the right edge behind blocks from Frank Ragnow and Penei Sewell -- and receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tim Patrick -- and hit Camryn Bynum with a stutter step that left the Vikings safety grabbing air. He was untouched all the way to the end zone.
"Just had a wide zone to the right, there was really nothing I had to do for real until I got to the (second) level," said Gibbs, saluting his blockers. "I just had to do the rest."
Gibbs is a "multiphase, elite, explosive position-less weapon," as Brad Holmes once called him, operating behind an angry offensive line. That's a dangerous combination. He finished third among running backs in his rookie season with 5.2 yards per carry. He's up to 5.7 this season, fourth among backs behind Tank Bigsby, Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry.
Even more impressive, Gibbs ranks seventh in rushing yards per game (77.3), despite being tied for 19th in carries. Sunday was also his best showing of the season as a receiver, Gibbs catching all four of his targets for 44 yards.
"I know it’s been David, David, David, and it was just a matter of time for him to have his moment," said Jared Goff. "And today was that. He was locked-in, you could see it in his eyes. That one run he had was pretty special where he made the safety miss, and that’s what he can do. He certainly carried us in a lot of ways."
Later, Gibbs did some blocking himself. In addition to the running and pass-catching, this is why the Lions consider him such a complete player. When Kalif Raymond caught a slant over the middle about 15 yards from the end zone in the third quarter (after breaking Gilmore's ankle on his release), Gibbs did just enough to seal off safety Josh Metellus and allow Raymond to turn the corner and race into the end zone. Had he done any more, Gibbs likely would have been flagged.
"What a smart play. That may have been the best play," said Campbell, before catching himself with a laugh. "Well, his run was the best. But then, second (best). What a smart play to kind of shield him, otherwise you’re going to get a penalty and the play comes back. It was really good, man. He’s a weapon for us."
Gibbs isn't one to pat himself on the back. He's soft-spoken with the media, and gets right to the point. Asked what the Lions learned about themselves in their comeback victory, Gibbs shrugged and said, "Nothing that we didn’t already know."