Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown had two of the biggest plays on the afternoon for Detroit's offense in a 31-29 win over Minnesota on Sunday. Gibbs had a 45-yard touchdown run to put the Lions on the board and back in the game in the second quarter after falling behind 10-0. St. Brown had a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jared Goff on the next Detroit series to give them their first lead of the game.
Those are big-time plays from two of Detroit's biggest playmakers. But watch the highlights and pay close attention to No. 17, Tim Patrick, a veteran receiver who's been here less than two months but has quickly bought into the culture that makes this team and this offense so special – unselfishness and everyone doing their job.
On Gibbs' touchdown, Patrick is split out wide right. His job is to take out Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. on the second level so all Gibbs has to do is beat safety Camryn Bynum in space for the touchdown. Patrick (6-5, 210) walls off Murphy as Gibbs cuts inside and beats Bynum one-on-one for the longest touchdown run of his career.
On the next series, Detroit was driving at the Minnesota 35-yard line facing 2nd & 11. The Vikings showed blitz with seven defenders at the line of scrimmage and ended up bringing six, one more than the offensive line can block, and played Cover 0 behind it.
Goff sees it and identifies the weak spot in the protection. He motions Patrick across the formation from the left pre-snap to block outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who has 30 pounds on Patrick, and Van Ginkel gets stonewalled by Patrick to give Goff enough time to throw a perfect pass to St. Brown streaking down the seam for the touchdown.
Those two plays won't show up in the stat sheet for Patrick, but it's that unselfishness from everyone on offense that fuels one of the best teams in the NFL.
"When you find unselfish guys that have ability and then they are the right type of guys ... it's another thing to have real productive, athletic competitive type guys that endear themselves to their teammates," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Monday.
"I think that's rare and that's really what Brad (Holmes) and I are looking for. Is to find those football guys that are willing to put their pride in the backseat for the guy next to them and that's not always an easy thing to do. We are really loaded in the locker room with guys like that."
No block. No rock.
Four words that have become a staple in Johnson's offense and wide receiver coach Antwaan Randle El's room. Patrick, St. Brown, Jameson Williams and all of Detroit's receivers have bought in 100 percent.
Detroit's produced 115-plus rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in each of the first six games of a season for the first time since 1956. The Lions are No. 7 in rushing, they have 26 runs of 10-plus yards and their 4.9-yard average per rush ranks in the top 10.
"Production slash team mentality all in whatever you ask them to do," Campbell said of his group of receivers. "It would be hard to match this group. One of the reasons our run game is so productive, I bring it up every week, because our receivers, man, they block on the perimeter and they finish at the second level."
Campbell said Patrick has been a terrific addition as a blocker and pass catcher. He's really rounded out the receiver room with exactly what they needed in a player with his size, skillset and mentality.
For how good Gibbs and David Montgomery are, those rushing numbers for Detroit aren't possible without receivers and tight ends willing and able to block in the second level.
It's one thing to be talented, which the Lions most certainly are, but it's how unselfish and willing to do the little things that make the big things possible that's been the most fun part about watching this offense in 2024.
