Jahmyr Gibbs was offered oxygen on the bench after a 78-yard run.
He refused.
Obviously he wasn’t out of breath.
Gibbs scored on a long sprint in the second quarter, a five-yard plunge in the third and totaled a career-high 218 yards to lead the Detroit Lions in a 24-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
“It felt like it was going to happen,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. “It’s been building.”
The Lions (5-2) bounced back from a loss as they have done flawlessly for nearly three years, extending their NFL streak to 51 games without losing two in a row in the regular season.
“The guys responded, and I knew they would,” Campbell said.
Tampa Bay (5-2) was overwhelmed by more than 200 yards in the first half, but trailed 14-3 because Detroit had an interception, a fumble, turned it over on downs and missed a field goal.
Rookie Tez Johnson had a 22-yard touchdown run to open the second half, pulling the Bucs to within five points, but they couldn’t slow down Gibbs.
On the ensuing drive, Gibbs had a 15-yard run and 28-yard reception to set up his second touchdown that gave the Lions a 21-9 lead late in the third quarter.
The third-year running back finished with a game-high 136 rushing yards on 17 carries and a game-high 82 receiving yards on three catches, giving him a total that falls short of four performances for the franchise this century.
Gibbs is the first NFL player with at least 135 rushing yards and 80 receiving yards and two rushing scores since Chris Johnson accomplished the feat with Tennessee in 2009.
“He’s a very talented running back and when you miss a gap, he can make a big play out of it,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said.
Detroit’s Jared Goff finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown on the game’s first drive. Goff, however, lost a fumble and overthrew rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa on fourth-and-2 on the next two possessions, then threw an interception — all in Tampa Bay territory.
Baker Mayfield was 28 of 50 for 228 yards with a touchdown and an interception against a short-handed defense. Mayfield threw an incomplete pass into the end zone with 4:24 left, ending potential comeback hopes.
“As a skill group, we failed to communicate on a lot of plays,” Mayfield said. “Once the defense knows we’re going to have to pass, they can get stuck in their ears. It’s not a fair situation for the offensive line.”
Gibbs took advantage of a big hole and his speed to score on a career-long 78-yard run late in the second quarter to put Detroit up 14-0.
“If you can get him to the second level, he can do the rest,” Campbell said.
After Detroit’s Jake Bates missed a 54-yard field goal, Chase McLaughlin made a 53-yard field goal to end the half and put the Bucs on the scoreboard.
Bates connected on a 58-yard field goal early in the fourth, knocking it down off an upright, to give the Lions a 24-9 lead.
“It’s a tough matchup for every team right now,” Bowles said. “We know the loud crowd. We just didn’t execute, but they played a really good game.”
The Lions are 13-3 in night games under Campbell and they have won five in a row on Monday Night Football.
