Week 8 against the Las Vegas Raiders was a breakout performance for Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, with 152 rushing yards, 189 total yards and a touchdown on the ground. His total package of skills was on full display-speed, power and pass-catching ability-over a robust 31 touches.
The Lions put up a total of 222 yards on the ground against the Raiders, of course led by Gibbs. But backup Craig Reynolds, however overlooked and easy to miss in the shadow of what Gibbs did, also had a nice outing with 74 yards on 14 carries and one reception for 12 yards. The only blemish on Reynolds' night was a very iffy (and hardly conclusive) fumble near the goal line.
Reynolds has generally done well when he has gotten opportunities this season, with more of a role in the Lions' offense when either Gibbs or David Montgomery has been out.
Next Gen Stats shows deeper look at nice outing for Craig Reynolds against the Raiders
According to Next Gen Stats/Zebra Technologies (h/t to Lions Wire), no running back had more success against stacked boxes than Reynolds did in Week 8.
"Craig Reynolds was the only RB that faced a stacked box on 25.0% or more of his carries (35.71%) and generated +5 or more RYOE (+20). For reference, there were 13 other qualified RBs that hit that stacked box threshold this week."
So by that calculation, Reynolds faced a stacked box (seven or more defenders in the box) on five of his 14 carries against the Raiders and still generated +20 Rushing Yards Over Expected overall. With that minimum 25 percent threshold, it's fair to assume Reynolds' 35.7 percent stacked box rate is on the high end among the 14 running backs who met that criteria. And he was the only of those who generated at least +5 Rushing Yards Over Expected, blowing that number out of the water at +20.
Reynolds has proven to be plenty capable when called upon. Week 8 looked good on the surface for him, and advanced stats fortified what the eye test showed.