Tag: Jahmyr Gibbs

Bijan Robinson reveals his top five running backs in the NFL

Jahmyr Gibbs is among Robinson’s top running backs in the NFL right now.

Former Texas running back Bijan Robinson was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Continue reading “Bijan Robinson reveals his top five running backs in the NFL”

NFL rookies played well on Championship Sunday

Some quality rookie performances on Championship Sunday are a strong indicator that the NFL is becoming more competitive.

Here’s a look at the NFL rookies who played well on Championship Sunday as we prepare for SBLVII next weekend.

Two Lions added to the Pro Bowl roster

Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and RB Jahmyr Gibbs are now Pro Bowlers

The NFL finally corrected an egregious slight. On Tuesday, the league announced that Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was one of two Detroit players added to the 2024 Pro Bowl.

St, Brown and rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs are among the additions to the all-star extravaganza, which has changed formats to a games style of event rather than an actual football game. St. Brown is replacing injured Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, while Gibbs takes the spot of 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.

St. Brown was a first-team All-Pro but somehow failed to make the cut for the initial Pro Bowl roster. He finished second in the league in receptions and third in receiving yards.

Why Lions OC Ben Johnson staying put could shake up the whole NFC in 2024

The Detroit Lions got a huge bit of great news when OC Ben Johnson decided to stay put. That’s bad news for the rest of the NFL.

The Detroit Lions, who saw their 2023 season end in heartbreaking fashion with a 34-31 divisional round loss to the San Francisco 49ers in which they led 24+7 at the end of the first half, got some very good news to cool that particular burn.

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who has been of serious interest as a head coach for multiple NFL teams over the last two seasons, is staying put.

In 2023, the Lions ranked fifth in the NFL in Offensive DVOA (seventh passing, fourth rushing), up from seventh overall in 2022, and 29th in 2021. Johnson took over in 2022, so that tells you a lot.

Under Johnson in 2023, quarterback Jared Goff had his best season to date, completing 484 of 786 passes for a league-high 5,411 yards, 34 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a passer rating of 98.7. Running backs David Montgomery and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 2,287 yards and 28 rushing touchdowns on 469 carries. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta caught 107 passes on 147 targets for 1,065 yards and 11 touchdowns, and the receiver corps of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond, and the two backs as pass-catchers were as dynamic as any group in the league at times.

Factor in an offensive line that may have the NFL’s best right tackle in Penei Sewell and the NFL’s best center in Frank Ragnow, and it’s easy to see why Johnson wanted to come back for one more season and maybe win a Super Bowl this time around.

The Lions’ offense has been a fascinating study all season long, and here are some of the hallmarks that Johnson and his guys can expand on when next season comes around.

Dan Campbell’s fourth-down decisions aren’t why the Lions lost to the 49ers

Dan Campbell made two big fourth-down decisions against the 49ers. But the analytics aren’t why the Lions lost the NFC Championship game.

NFL broadcasters talk about “analytics” all the time without understanding what that word means at any level. Generally, it’s done in a dismissive tone and with a sense of disappointment in how the game has changed — i.e., the nerds have taken over, and football is worse for it.

Not that it matters, but NFL coaches have employed analytical thinking in their in-game decision-making processes for decades. Coaches may describe it as “going with my gut,” but they also use probability and tendency to try and make the best choices possible.

In the case of Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell and his team’s 34-31 NFC Championship loss to the San Francisco 49ers, it’s Campbell who will feel the sting of the analytical naysayers all offseason long. The Lions had a 24-7 halftime lead, which they proceeded to blow in the second half. Now, the Lions’ improbable Super Bowl journey is nothing but a broken dream.

Two play calls are front of mind for most who are looking to assign blame for Detroit’s collapse. With 7:03 left in the third quarter, the Lions had the ball at the San Francisco 28-yard line. Instead of having kicker Michael Badgley attempt a 46-yard field goal to go up 27-10, the Lions went for it. Jared Goff attempted a 12-yard curl route to receiver Josh Reynolds, but Goff was pressured and threw the ball short.

And with 7:38 left in the game, the Lions had the ball at the San Francisco 30-yard line. This time, the decision instead of a 48-yard field goal try was to have Goff hit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on a deep crosser. Again, Goff was hurried, and again, the play didn’t work.

Now, most models favored going for it in those situations, or at least called it a relative push.

“I just felt really good about us converting and getting our momentum and not letting them play long ball,” Campbell said after the game. “They were bleeding the clock out. That’s what they do. And I wanted to get the upper hand back. And it’s easy hindsight, and I get it. I get that. But I don’t regret those decisions. And that’s hard. It’s hard because we didn’t come through. It wasn’t able to work out, but I don’t, I don’t. And I understand the scrutiny I’ll get. That’s part of the gig, man. But [it] just didn’t work out.”

My issue is not at all with the decision to go for it on those two plays. Badgley was an afterthought at kicker – he wasn’t active until Week 14 — and had attempted just one field goal of 40 or more yards this season. He made it in Week 17 against the Dallas Cowboys, but let’s stop pretending that those field goals would have been automatic. And outdoors, Badgley hadn’t made a field goal of 40 or more yards since the 2020 season.

And for the season, the Lions had converted 21 of 40 fourth-down attempts. This is who Campbell is, and this is who the Lions are.

“I loved them,” Goff said of the fourth-down decisions. “We’ve got to convert.”

My issue is with the play calls the Lions chose in those circumstances. Detroit’s run game had been dragging Steve Wilks’ 49ers defense up and down the field. For the game, Detroit ran the ball 29 times for 182 yards (a 6.3-yard average) and three touchdowns. On both of those conversion attempts, the 49ers’ desire to get after Goff would have left open gaps for Detroit’s running backs. David Montgomery had explosive running plays in this game of 14, 15 and 16 yards, which is about as consistent as you can get. This 16-yard run with 9:15 left in the game would have been pretty nifty a couple of minutes later.

On each of those runs, Goff was under center. Goff has been the NFL’s best under-center play-action passer this season, and by far the most prolific. Why would both of those conversion attempts have Goff in pistol, and the fourth-quarter attempt with Goff in empty? At least give the 49ers’ defense the possibility of a run in those situations.

So, before we chalk this all up to the alleged evils of analytics in football, we should consider that Campbell’s gambles weren’t wrong at all. It was the play calls that killed his team.

Lions rookie report: How did they fare in the NFC Championship game?

While the end result isn’t what anyone wants, the future is bright. Here is how these rookies faired in their first taste of a big game atmosphere.

The magical season for the Detroit Lions has come to an end. After several key drops, missing flags, and debatable coaching decisions, we arrive at the end of the 2023 season.

Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell built and developed this year over the past three years. Specifically, the 2023 NFL Draft class for the Lions has been monumental. It will go down as one of the best in the history of this organization.

While the end result isn’t what anyone wants, the future is bright. Here is how these rookies faired in their first taste of a big game atmosphere.

Lions will have 29th overall selection in 2024 NFL draft

The Detroit Lions will have the 29th overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft

The 2024 NFL draft will be right around the corner before anyone knows it. The key events leading up to it are already here with the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl.

The Detroit Lions will be drafting 29th overall in a class that is very heavy on offense, which bodes well for what they need given that the top of the draft will be focused on that side of the ball.

The Lions offense can be electric. We all saw the rise of Jahmyr Gibbs, the emergence of Sam LaPorta, the return and development of Jameson Williams, and Jared Goff earning his keep. Now it is time for the defense to take its next step.

The team has needs at cornerback and safety. Yes, they hit on Brian Branch, but the free agent signing of Cameron Sutton hasn’t given good results, nor has anyone else stepped up. The cornerback and safety class in this draft class should start seeing dominos fall in the 20s, so perhaps we see GM Brad Holmes active in the draft again.

Players who could be connected to the Lions include Quinyon Mitchell, Terrion Arnold, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Kamren Kinchens, to name a few.

WATCH: Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs shine in first half of NFC Championship game for Lions

The former Alabama stars are shining in the NFC Championship

The Kansas City Chiefs punched their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII earlier on Sunday afternoon as they defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-10. Now Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs await their opponent as the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers battle for NFC supremacy.

The Lions lead the Niners at halftime 24-7 in large part due to the play of a pair of former Alabama Crimson Tide stars, Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs.

Williams scored the game’s first points with his 42-yard touchdown run where he weaved through the Niners’ defense and showed off his blazing speed to put the Lions on top.

Then, not to be outdone, Gibbs would scamper in for a 15-yard touchdown run of his own to extend the Detroit lead.

Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for more coverage of former Alabama stars in the NFL playoffs.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Lions with 86 rushing yards, two touchdowns in massive first quarter vs. 49ers

The Lions are running all over the 49ers’ defense, and that should not come as a surprise.

The San Francisco 49ers have a great overall defense, but the Detroit Lions clearly believed that they could run the ball on that defense, and through the first quarter of the NFC Championship game, that was proven out to a ridiculous degree. The Lions had nine rushing attempts in that first 15 minutes for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

This should not come as a surprise. The Lions came into this game ranked seventh in rushing success rate, while San Francisco’s defense ranked 16th. Detroit had explosive plays on 12% of their runs, while the 49ers ranked 16th in explosive runs allowed. Perhaps most importantly, the Lions ranked ninth in yard per attempt outside the tackles (3.9), and the 49ers ranked 24th in yards per carry allowed outside the tackles.

That’s going to be crucial for the terms of this discussion.

There was receiver Jameson Williams’ 42-yard touchdown run with 13:18 left in the first quarter…

…and the Lions just pushing everybody out of the way on David Montgomery’s one-yard touchdown with 2:34 left in the first quarter.

Not to mention Jahmyr Gibbs’ ridiculous jump cut here.

Ben Johnson’s run game has been one of the NFL’s most creative and efficient all season long, so it makes sense that the Lions are dragging the 49ers around on the ground early on.

The much criticized Detroit Lions draft class could take them to the Super Bowl

Back in April, the Detroit Lions were ridiculed for their draft class. Now those rookies are key players in the Lions playing in the NFC Championship

It is very common for media and fans to want to jump to conclusions immediately after the draft process to find out who “won” the draft (we are certainly guilty of it), but sometimes that is a fool’s errand given the seemingly random outcomes of players coming out of college.

The common theme after the 2023 Draft was that the Detroit Lions reached on players like running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, and tight end Sam LaPorta. The narrative on this class has shifted more than just about any class in recent memory as this group of rookies have helped carry this team all the way to the NFC Championship game.

With Gibbs and LaPorta playing major roles in helping Detroit seal their game last weekend against Tampa Bay it becomes clear that the Lions nailed this draft class and could be the driving force to guide them to the Super Bowl. With a talented San Francisco team standing in their way it’s imperative that this rookie class all come up big, and Detroit could lean on the likes of LaPorta and Gibbs yet again to help punch their ticket to their first Super Bowl appearance.