It had been a rather quiet day for Jamaal Williams when the Lions offense took the field with a chance to bury the Bears last Sunday. But there was no doubt he was getting the ball. His final carry of the day went for seven yards, moved the chains and ended the game. It also pushed Williams to 604 rushing yards on the season, a new career high with eight games to go.
"There was no doubt that he was going to get the first down, get down and seal the game," Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said Thursday. "We knew that already. That was our plan."
Their plans in the backfield this season have otherwise gone awry. D'Andre Swift has missed three games and been limited in several others due to ankle and shoulder injuries. With their most explosive player sidelined, the Lions have leaned hard on Williams, who has leaned harder on opposing defenses.
Williams plows behind his pads. He barrels into bodies and falls forward. He leaves nothing on the field, except everything he's got. At times, he's shiftier than he gets credit for, like when he shot through a hole near midfield against the Seahawks in Week 4, then shed a safety with a stiff-arm from hell on his way to the end zone. He's up to nine touchdowns this season, tied with Derrick Henry for second most in the NFL.
Most of those touchdowns have come from the goal line. On crucial snaps, the Lions know they can trust him. When Williams coughed up the ball at the one-yard line in Detroit's Week 7 loss to Dallas, it was the first fumble of his six-year career. It took him 622 NFL carries to put the ball on the ground. The Lions went right back to him the next week and Williams scored twice from inside the 10.
"Like we say every week with him, he is Mr. Dependable, Mr. Steady," said Johnson. "We know exactly what we're getting with him."
Williams has never gotten this much in his career. He's not just on pace for 1,140 rushing yards, nearly double his previous high. He's on pace for 268 carries, more than all but three running backs had last season. His career high is 153, which he's likely to exceed Sunday against the Giants. Did we mention there's still eight games to go?
"You don’t know until you start pushing the limits what someone’s capable of," Johnson said. "Just because he hasn’t had the workload we're giving him doesn’t mean that he’s not built for it or can’t handle it."
Williams means more to the Lions than his stats. He has genuine love for the players around him. He moved himself to tears imploring his teammates to give more and go harder after a sluggish practice in training camp. "We can make it!!" he told them, between sobs. Running backs coach Duce Staley said Friday that Williams, in his second season in Detroit, has become "our team leader." Football is draining. Williams is the Lions' unflagging source of energy.
"It’s not about the name on the back of the jersey that makes you a leader," said Staley. "It’s all about your actions. In vulnerable times, he’s sharing stories in front of the group. I’ve seen him shed tears in front of the group. I’ve seen him laugh, joke around, have fun in front of the group. I see him when he’s having a good practice and someone else is not, walk over there and put an arm around his shoulder and talk to him.
"You start talking about the definition of leadership, it’s all about actions. And that means a lot to us."
For the record, Williams did have a workload like this in college. He got 234 carries his senior year at BYU and put up 1,375 yards. He can handle it. He's built for it. He's averaging 4.3 yards per carry this season, tying a career high. Mr. Dependable is also Mr. Durable. Williams said Thursday that his "body feels great, like it can handle it all."
"I feel like I still got more to go," he said. "I just gotta keep making plays. I’m worried more about yards than carries. The carries are cool, but the carries don’t mean nothing if you ain’t getting yards. So I’m just making sure I make every carry count."
Williams, 27, picked a good year to post his best numbers. He's a free agent after this season. The Lions will almost certainly try to bring him back. He's been everything Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes expected from the moment he arrived, and he's everything they want the Lions to be: stouthearted and steady, from one week to the next. And Williams, all things equal, would like to return.
"I want to be here," he said. "It's a great team. I see the possibilities and the positive energy in here. So if I can be here, I’ll be here. If I can’t, it’s just the way of the universe. I’m happy wherever I go and I'm just gonna be me, but I know what I bring to the team and hopefully I’m here for it."
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