With his arm draped around the shoulder of Craig Reynolds, Jahmyr Gibbs wore the T-shirt and the hat that proclaimed the Lions champions of the North and said he "didn't really know" that it would be his night. He might have been the only one in the building who wasn't in on it.
"We felt like he was going to need to be big for us to win that game," said Dan Campbell. "We felt like Gibbs could be the X-factor here, and he was, man. He showed up in a big way."
He showed up like he has all season, and showed out on the national stage. Gibbs' four touchdowns -- three rushing and one receiving -- propelled the Lions to a 31-9 win over the Vikings and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. While Campbell was signing Gibbs' praises, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell could only shake his head and say, "He’s as explosive as anybody in the National Football League."
"I thought we did a pretty good job on him for the most part, but against a player like that, all it takes is a little bit of space, a little bit of grass for him to hit that thing, and he’s going to be tough to tackle in space when he gets out there," O'Connell said.
Gibbs' first touchdown was a 25-yard dash to the left that gave the Lions the early lead. His second was arguably the biggest play of the game, a fourth-down grab on a quick route up the middle that padded their edge in the third quarter. It was also historic: Gibbs broke the franchise record for scrimmage touchdowns (18) in a season, a distinction previously shared by Barry Sanders and Jamaal Williams.
His third touchdown was another blast through the left side, this one from 13 yards out, that felt like it put the game out of reach. And his fourth was a pile-pushing plunge up the middle that put the appropriate flourish on the Lions' emphatic victory.
Gibbs isn't one to speak on his own success. He's shy in the face of cameras and microphones, especially when asked about himself. He said the victory "feels great" but "we got bigger goals in mind," and said he didn't know the touchdown record was within reach until a couple days ago. He flashed a smile and said, "So I had to get that." The catch, he said, was his favorite touchdown of the night, "because that was the one that broke it."
Across the locker room, Taylor Decker sighed and tried to come up with a single word to describe the Lions' star running back. "Oh, man," he said after giving it some thought. "I don't know if I can."
"I would just say that he’s electric. He’s got that lightning in a bottle where he just has incredible contact balance, he can hit the hole, he can run any run that we ask him to, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, he’s physical, he can make people miss. He can do everything. You can’t tell me he’s not one of the best players in the NFL," Decker said.
On the other end of the offensive line, Penei Sewell shook his head in admiration. Not many are built like Detroit's All-World right tackle, who looked across the room at Gibbs and said, "Not many are built like that guy right there."
"Man, Jah is just one of those special players, special human beings. One of a kind, truly. So just to be on the same team and watch him go to work today, just inspirational and motivational," said Sewell.
One of Gibbs' closest friends on the team is Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Lions' star receiver was subdued in his postgame comments, cognizant of the goals that lie ahead, but lit up when asked about No. 26: "He's a beast."
"He’s one of the best players in this league," said one of the best players in this league. "He can do it all out of the backfield, run between the tackles, wide zone, whatever it is, pass protect, explosive. He’s a huge part of this team. I’m glad he’s on our team."
Once Gibbs got going, the Vikings couldn't keep up. He did the bulk of his damage in the second half when he averaged more than eight yards per carry. He finished with season highs in scrimmage yards (170) and touches (28) in his latest grown-man effort since David Montgomery went down with a knee injury. And Gibbs did it after taking a huge hit in the first half that briefly sent him to the sidelines -- where Montgomery was waiting to greet him after each big play.
"I felt like he gained steam as the game went on," said Campbell. "I thought he got better, and better, and better. You could really feel it after that last stop we got in the red zone on fourth down, that next carry he has, he just breaks it down the sideline."
That was Gibbs' longest run of the night, a 47-yarder up the right side that kicked off the Lions' final touchdown drive. It was well-blocked by Sewell and Kevin Zeitler, but as Decker said, "Even if we don’t block things perfectly, if we just have a body on a body we know he can make things happen. When you know at any point there can be a home run, you strain a little extra."
"We just get to reap the rewards of having a special back like that," Decker said.
Gibbs' reward is winning, and a week of rest before the Lions resume their pursuit of the Super Bowl.
"We got a bunch of goals," he said. "That was just the first step. One game at a time to finish it."