Instead of ghosts and goblins, young Lions fans may want to consider being Jahmyr Gibbs for Halloween. The Lions rookie running back provided plenty of treats for Detroit fans during Monday night's 26-14 win over the Raiders while tormenting Las Vegas' defense all night.
Gibbs ran for a season-high 152 yards and a score on 26 carries. He also caught five passes for 37 yards while becoming the first Lions running back to rush for over 100 yards and have at least 30 receiving yards in a game since Barry Sanders' did so way back in 1989.
While Gibbs doesn't run like Sanders, he was just as effective as the Lions' Hall of Fame runner on Monday night. The hard-charging Gibbs was the engine behind a Lions offense that churned out 486 total yards that included 222 yards on the ground. Conversely, the Raiders struggled to move the ball sans Josh Jacobs' three-yard touchdown run late in the first half that capped off a 10-play, 75-yard drive.
Las Vegas' only other score was Marcus Peters' 75-yard pick-six early in the second half. The pick-six along with the Raiders' red zone defense, kept Las Vegas within striking range of Detroit until Gibbs' 27-yard touchdown run made it a nine-point game with late in the third quarter.
Gibbs' monster night was in part set up by Jared Goff, who threw for 225 yards in the first half. Goff's big first half included an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Sam LaPorta that gave Detroit a 16-7 halftime lead. Goff's favorite target on the night was Amon-Ra St. Brown, who caught six passes for 108 yards.
While the Lions stars were out in full force, Maxx Crosby was the only Raiders' star who brought his "A" game to Detroit. Jimmy Garoppolo completed less than half of his pass attempts and was sacked six times. He completed just one pass to Davante Adams while badly overthrowing him late in the contest.
Why the Lions won
Have you heard of Jahmyr Gibbs? The electric rookie running back single-handedly carried Detroit's offense on Monday, gashing the middle of Vegas' defense with one explosive touch after another. It was an uneven night for quarterback Jared Goff, whose second-half pick-six pulled the Raiders within one score. Early red-zone woes also made the game closer than it should've been. But Gibbs' dynamism opened things up down the stretch, and he finished with 170+ yards from scrimmage. Defensively, the Lions' back end -- often said to be due for an upgrade -- stepped up to silence Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers until the waning minutes of the contest.
Why the Raiders lost
Besides the fact they couldn't stop the run (even on a night Detroit's leading rusher, David Montgomery, was sidelined due to injury), the Raiders simply did not move the ball. Jimmy Garoppolo was back under center after missing Week 7 with a back injury, but he offered no more -- maybe even less -- than demoted backup Brian Hoyer did against the Bears, failing to hit his big-name wideouts in stride and wasting a typically ferocious effort from Maxx Crosby on the other side of the ball. Josh McDaniels' offense did flash physicality on a Josh Jacobs-led TD drive, but other than that, it was a total, listless non-factor. Rock bottom came in the fourth quarter, when a helpless Garoppolo absorbed three sacks in four plays to turn the ball over on downs, sealing the defeat.
Turning point
Somehow, despite the Raiders' offensive ineptitude, the Lions led by just two points when they took possession of the ball late in the third quarter following a Vegas punt. An earlier fumble by RB Craig Reynolds at the Raiders' 1-yard line helped keep things close. But then Gibbs got an up-the-middle handoff in enemy territory and exploded into the open field, easily juking past a defender for a game-breaking score. The TD put Detroit up 23-14 and swung all momentum back in the Lions' favor.
Play of the game
How can it not go to Gibbs? Marcus Peters' pick-six on Goff was a true highlight for the Raiders defense, but Gibbs' speed was the story of the night:
What's next
The Lions (6-2) will enjoy their return to the win column on a Week 9 bye before returning to action with a road game against the Chargers (3-4) on Nov. 12. The Raiders (3-5), meanwhile, will return home in Week 10 to host the Giants (2-6), who fell to the Jets in overtime on Sunday.
