When Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said running back Jahmyr Gibbs would be the "bell cow," he wasn't kidding.
The Lions have attempted 163 runs in 2026. Gibbs accounts for 134 of them (82.2%). Next most is RB Sione Vaki (16) followed by quarterback Jared Goff (12). Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has the lone other rush, which was a one-yard loss this past Sunday in the victory against the Green Bay Packers.
By comparison, Bijan Robinson has 131 of the Atlanta Falcons' 206 rushes (63.59%), while Kenneth Walker III has 120 of the Kansas City Chiefs' 161 rushes (74.53%). Derrick Henry, who leads the league in rush attempts, has 143 of the Baltimore Ravens' 212 rushes (69.3%). When Barry Sanders won MVP in 1997, he had 335 of the Lions' 447 rushes (74.9%).
You get the picture.
Gibbs has been a workhorse this season and showing little signs of slowing down. But on his game-sealing rush against the Packers, Gibbs did fall a bit funny, appearing to twist both his ankle and his knee.
Gibbs will be fine, and should be a-ok for Sunday's matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, but it's a reminder that the running game as it stands now really is just Gibbs. If he misses time, it becomes the Goff show. Goff can absolutely win games with his arm, he's not an MVP candidate for nothing, but the playmaking ability of Gibbs would still be sorely missed.
And it's why it's time for the Lions to bring in a safety net.
Bridging the gap between now and Isiah Pacheco
Gibbs was never meant to carrying the RB load this much. Remember Isiah Pacheco? The Lions signed the former Chief to a one-year deal back in March to replace traded RB David Montgomery. However, an MCL injury and back surgery has kept Pacheco out since August.
Pacheco's back surgery has a roughly 12-week recovery time, which we're about midway through. That puts his return probably no earlier than the December 6th game against the Falcons if he's ahead of schedule, but likely the December 13th game against the Tennessee Titans.
Back to Gibbs, his workload this season has been staggering. We're only a third of the way into the season. That wear and tear will build up over the course of the season. The end of the season stretch is no joke, either. It's road divisional games in three of the final four weeks, along with the NFC East-leading New York Giants.
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The Lions have to manage Gibbs' workload as the season progresses. As we get closer to Pacheco's return, the Lions do have an intriguing pathway for how to approach this. Each team is allowed to call up a player from the practice squad three times before they have to sign them to the active roster or release them.
The Lions could do this twice with, say, Kareem Hunt and Antonio Gibson, and not have to juggle active roster spots or part with draft capital in a trade. Or they can simply do it once, and lean more into Vaki the next few weeks. All the while, bring in someone now to get them fully into playing shape in preparation for the short turnaround in a few weeks with the Thanksgiving game. By the time those elevations are up, Pacheco should be back for the final stretch.
Gibbs' workload doesn't have to dip to 55% of rushes like it was last season, nor should it, but 82.2% is comically high. Sitting and waiting until Pacheco returns is tempting fate too much. Gibbs is too valuable to wear out. So whatever the Lions do at the RB position behind Gibbs in the coming weeks, it has to be something.
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