There is a new name at the top of the Detroit Lions single-season touchdown list.
Barry Sanders and Jamaal Williams were previously tied atop the list for most touchdowns in a Lions season with 17. After Jahmyr Gibbs' three rushing touchdowns and one receiving score Sunday night in a 31-9 win over Minnesota, he now sits atop the list with 20.
Gibbs' big day helped propel the Lions to a franchise-record 15th victory of the season and a second straight NFC North title. Detroit also secured the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC playoffs, which gives them a bye through next week's Wild Card playoff round and gives Detroit home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
"He was big and I felt like he gained steam as the game went on," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said of Gibbs after the game. "I thought he got better and better and better. You could really feel it after that last red zone stop and that next carry, he just breaks it down the sideline. You could feel it.
"He was big for us, and we felt like he was going to need to be big for us to win that game. All those guys needed to play well for us but we felt Gibbs could somewhat be the X factor."
Gibbs had 139 rushing yards on 23 carries (6.0 avg.) and also chipped in five catches for 31 yards, finding the end zone four times. He is now the only player in Lions history to produce 1,900-plus scrimmage yards and 20-plus touchdowns in a single season.
DEFENSIVE EFFORT
Despite all the injuries and adversity Detroit's defense has been forced to battle through all year, it almost seemed fitting the most important win of the season was a direct result of the defensive effort Sunday night.
Detroit's defense held the Vikings out of the end zone and made two critical fourth-down stops inside their own 5-yard line to help seal the win. Minnesota was just 3-for-13 on third down, 0-for-3 on fourth down and 0-for-4 in the red zone.
"I'll start with (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG," said linebacker Alex Anzalone, who was playing in his first game in six weeks since breaking his forearm Week 11. "He does an amazing job leading us, keeping us accountable, calling people out when they need to be called out, teaching when he needs to teach, uplifting when he needs to uplift, and Dan and AG are hand in hand the best leaders I've been around."
JAMO FOR 1,000
Third-year wide receiver Jameson Williams caught six passes for 34 yards which was enough to give him his first career 1,000-yard receiving season (1,001 yards).
"I'm so proud of him," Lions quarterback Jared Goff said of Williams. He's come such a long way and he's such an integral part of our team right now. That 1,000 was cool for him. He deserves it. He probably deserves more yards than that. He's done a hell of a job holding himself to a really high standard and demanding more of himself and I'm super proud of him."
Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown are the second set of teammates in franchise history to each record 1,000 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns in a season.
INJURY UPDATE
Rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold left the game in the third quarter with a foot injury. Campbell said after the game initial X-rays were negative, but Arnold was very tender. Campbell hoped to have an update on Monday.
Defensive tackle Pat O'Connor (calf) and guard Kevin Zeitler (hamstring) also left the game and did not return.
EXTRA POINT
For the first time in team history, two players have each produced 100-plus points in a season: Kicker Jake Bates and Gibbs
