Jameson Williams has enjoyed a solid season for the Detroit Lions, and as the team attempts to feed him the ball more down the stretch, the wide receiver knows every look he gets is vital.
Detroit's offense has struggled to find big plays, and Williams has managed to deliver that dynamic at times. Amid a 31-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers, he turned in a beautiful touchdown on a flanker screen pass which nearly brought the Lions back.
In spite of that play, a drop is what sticks out in Williams' mind from the defeat. On fourth-down in the second-half, Jared Goff rolled to his right and seemed to have Williams open for a conversion or possible touchdown. The pass was dropped, and the game slipped away soon after.
While Goff initially took the blame for the botched sequence, it was Williams who wanted all the heat a few days later. He knows it's a play that an elite wide receiver has to make in order to change the game.
"Yeah, that's a drop. That's why I did all that (reaction) after the play. No matter where the ball's at, as a receiver, you've got to make plays. The blame doesn't go on the quarterback. It goes to us. I'm saying it's my fault because I dropped the ball. He gave me the opportunity. I've just got to make the best of the opportunity and move the sticks for us. I move the sticks right there, it could be a whole different game for us."
Obviously, Williams has been way more good than bad this season when targeted, as he has put up 706 yards and six touchdowns. He seems primed for his second-straight 1,000 yard season, and has taken on the look of a leader on and off the field after signing a new contract with Detroit. This mature approach certainly deserves a lot of credit.
While the frustration remains for Williams in light of last week, he is all systems go before yet another critical contest in the NFC playoff push.
Williams looking forward to a 'huge day' offensively against the Cowboys
While Detroit's contest against Dallas in Week 13 is seen as make-or-break from a playoff standpoint, Williams isn't feeling added pressure. He sounds loose ahead of the Thursday game, and even believes the Lions have a potential edge over the Cowboys on offense thanks to the work they have done identifying a game plan.
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"We've seen these guys two of my first three years in the league. We know what they can do and know these defensive back's tendencies. We know how to attack them. That's a huge shout-out to the coaches. They put in extra work for us and tell us what they see and we do extra work too. We go back and forth with the coaches and find ways to attack these guys. We've got a lot of ways to attack them and Thursday should be a good day on the offensive side."
Detroit's offense has scored 44 points the last two weeks combined, so they have done more than enough to win on that side of the ball. Defensively, they have allowed 58 points in those same two games, so that side could be what determines whether the Lions score a win to stay alive.
At the very least, count on Williams being motivated to make a difference. Perhaps this week, he will be able to make the kind of play that he believes cost the team most on Thanksgiving Day.