Getty D'Andre Swift runs the ball for the Lions vs. Jacksonville in 2022.
The Detroit Lions managed to score a blowout win in Week 14, and a big reason why was the play of their offense.
Detroit didn’t punt once during the game, and managed to score 40 points. Most of the afternoon, the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t have much an answer for anything Detroit did.
The game was a perfect chance for the Lions to get running back D’Andre Swift back in gear. Swift had been earning some hype for managing to find some health on the field. Detroit seemed to know this, and turned him loose for the first time in a while.
Swift was showcased more in terms of his overall ability, and the Lions didn’t hesitate to feature him for the first time since Week 8. Jim Sannes pointed out the shift in mindset with the team.
“D’Andre Swift finished with a 51.4% snap rate. That’s his highest since Week 8 (his first game off of injury) and his third-highest rate of the year. He had 6 of 12 red-zone opportunities, his highest raw number and rate of the year,” Sannes tweeted.
In fact, the numbers showed that Swift was the leading man in Detroit’s backfield. Dwain McFarland had a closer look at the numbers, and they showed that Swift was on the field in a ton of different scenarios in Detroit.
D’Andre Swift led the Lions’ backfield in Week 13. 👀👀
51% snaps
45% attempts
51% route participation
13% targets
67% 2-minute offense
38% short yardage
63% long-down distance
“D’Andre Swift led the Lions’ backfield in Week 13. 51% snaps. 45% attempts. 51% route participation. 13% targets. 67% 2-minute offense. 38% short yardage. 63% long-down distance,” McFarland tweeted.
What does this uptick prove? Perhaps that the Lions are comfortable putting Swift back on the field in a big way starting now once again. With him coming back healthy, the team might now be set to unleash their major weapon once again.
Swift Scored Nice Touchdown vs. Jaguars
In terms of his own day, Swift did a nice job to answer the bell when called, especially in the red zone. Early in the third quarter, Swift cut a run to the outside and managed to make it into the end zone.
Typically, the Lions have seen Jamaal Williams generate plenty of goal line snaps, so to see Swift get a call near the goal line and make something happen with it was quite special for the Lions, indeed.
The @DAndreSwift stiff arm for 6️⃣!
#JAXvsDET | 📺 FOX | #ProBowlVote
Swift can be a good finisher for the Lions, and the more play he manages to get for the team the better off the Lions will be in the near future. Having a weapon like this could be huge for the team.
Swift Must Produce Rest of 2022
The rest of the season, it would be excellent news if Swift was healthy and able to be a major contributor on offense. If that was the case, it would mean the running back would theoretically have a bigger role.
With some uncertainty in the team’s backfield for 2023 with Jamaal Williams a free agent that should still return and Justin Jackson having a solid showing this season, the opportunity exists for Swift to take the reigns and show what he can do down the stretch run.
Injury has been the biggest problem in Swift’s career. so he needs to stay healthy badly over the final six games of the 2022 season. More than that, he needs to show that he can be a dominating force on the ground for the Lions.
While Williams has enjoyed a beefy statistical season, Swift has only gone over 100 yards once, and that was in the season opener.
In the weeks ahead, it will be interesting to see how the Lions choose to use Swift, and if he keeps generating major attention.