The Detroit Lions have put together the league’s top offense in 2024, scoring at a historic rate and making a bit of NFL history in the process.
The Lions took down the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, winning 40-34 and getting a measure of revenge for last year’s NFC Championship game. Detroit got some big games out of its star players on offense, with running back Jahmyr Gibbs and receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams all scoring touchdowns.
The trio — along with injured running back David Montgomery — have all turned in strong seasons and helped the Lions reach a mark no NFL team has ever reached.
Lions Reach Four 1K Players
The Lions announced during Monday’s game that the top players on offense all reached 1,000 scrimmage yards this season — a first in league history.
“The @Lions are the first team in @NFL history to have two RBs and two WRs all top 1,000 scrimmage yards in a single season,” the team noted in a post on X.
Montgomery and Gibbs have both been versatile for the Lions, making an impact both on the ground and through the air. Gibbs has rushed for 1,273 yards with 13 touchdowns on the ground, adding 47 receptions for 486 yards and two receiving scores. Montgomery has 775 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground with 36 receptions for 341 yards — all in just 14 games before suffering a knee injury.
St. Brown has 109 receptions for 1,186 yards with 12 touchdowns, while Williams has 52 receptions for 967 yards and seven touchdowns, adding 61 rushing yards and one rushing score.
St. Brown set another record in Monday’s win, recording his 11th touchdown to tie Calvin Johnson for the franchise single-season record. It was also the ninth time that both St. Brown and Gibbs scored in a game, tied for the best for a duo in NFL history.
The Lions had an opportunity to rest their starters on Monday, with next week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings determining the winner of the NFC North and No. 1 overall seed regardless of whether the Lions won or lost against the 49ers. But head coach Dan Campbell said he wanted to roll with the team’s top players in preparation for next week’s game.
“I ended up settling on the right thing to do was playing those guys,” he said, via The Associated Press. “We owed it to the team. … That was tough. I think the biggest thing is there was things we wanted to do better than we did last week, and we did.”
One Big Game Remaining
Despite the potent offense and the slew of team and individual records this season, the Lions still need one more win to take home a second straight NFC North title — and avoid heading into the playoffs as the best wild card of all time. The loser of next week’s game between the Lions and Vikings will become the first 14-win wild card team in NFL history while the 15-win victory get a first-round bye.
Campbell said his team is looking forward to the big moment.
“This is what you’re in it for, man,” Campbell said, via the team’s official website. “You couldn’t write a better scenario. You couldn’t come up with this. The fact that both teams are sitting at 14-2 and it’s for the division and the No. 1 seed. It just doesn’t get any better than this. This is fairytale stuff.”
Comments
Lions Make NFL History in Win Over 49ers