If Week 1 was any indication, the Detroit Lions are going to absolutely feed Jahmyr Gibbs this year.
In the Lions’ 31-30 win over the New Orleans Saints, Gibbs got 34 touches. He carried the ball 29 times for 156 yards and two scores, and caught five passes for 30 yards. Gibbs accounted for 186 of the Lions’ 369 total yards.
It set a new career high in both carries and touches in a single game for Gibbs. And it made one thing look clear— the Lions are going to be relying on their star running back quite a bit this season.
Head coach Dan Campbell said it was a “promising” Week 1 from Gibbs, but the running back is “not there yet” in terms of breaking off explosive runs. He pointed to a few plays where Gibbs nearly ripped off a home run.
“We were this close to breaking three or four of these [runs], breaking them wide open,” he said. “Just a little longer block at the second level. We were close, and we’re gonna get that cleaned up, and he’s gonna get better. Week 1, I like where he’s at. I’m glad he’s here.”
Gibbs' workload in Week 1 might indicate outsized role in 2026
Gibbs’ longest play of the day was a 21-yard rush in the first quarter. There were indeed a few plays where he could have had a 40 or 50-yard run but was barely brought down. Still, he showcased excellent vision and patience, and hesitated to hunt the big play. He looked like an astute veteran back out there.
The one blemish on Gibbs’ day was a fumble in the second quarter after a well-timed punch and a hard hit by Saints defensive lineman Vernon Broughton. It was his fifth fumble.
The fourth-year back is on a historic start to his career. With his first touchdown of the day, Gibbs became the sixth player in NFL history to score at least 50 touchdowns in 50 career games. His career total now sits at 51 scores.
.@Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs produces his 50th-career TD. He is the 6th player in @NFL history to accumulate 50+ TDs in 50-career games.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/N4q5y8JeQo
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) September 13, 2026
It’s what you want to see from the new highest-paid running back in NFL history. Gibbs’ three-year contract extension all but signaled he’d be the linchpin of the Lions’ offense after the offseason trade of David Montgomery. Campbell didn’t shy away from it this summer either, after he called Gibbs the team’s “bell cow” going forward.
What we saw Sunday was certainly bell cow activity.
It does raise questions about the toll this kind of workload will take on Gibbs. He averaged 17.5 touches per game his first three seasons and received nearly double that in Week 1.
He’s probably not getting 34 touches every game, but the floor for Gibbs’ usage seems higher than that 17.5 average touch number. Gibbs has been a durable player throughout his career, but this is another level of use.
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It could result in him getting banged up at a higher rate than we’ve seen in the past. And the Lions’ two backs behind him, Sione Vaki and Jacob Saylors, have a combined nine carries.
Vaki carried the ball twice for seven yards Sunday. Veteran No. 2 back Isiah Pacheco is on injured reserve.
Gibbs’ versatility as a rushing/receiving threat, explosiveness and vision make him a guy you can have on the field on all three downs. He’s more physical than he gets credit for as well. Gibbs is no doubt a player you can trust to be your “bell cow”, but the rate at which the hits pile up for him is definitely worth monitoring.
The Lions will take on the Buffalo Bills next Thursday night. Gibbs’ old backfield mate Montgomery just scored three touchdowns in the Texans’ loss to the Bills, but was held to just three yards per carry.
Detroit’s defense looked very bad Sunday against the Saints, and has a much tougher matchup this week. The Lions will have to feed Gibbs in order to control the ball and keep Josh Allen off the field.
It looks like that’s the plan after today. Fantasy owners, rejoice.
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