The Detroit Lions survived a close one in the first game of the season. It took a failed two-point conversion in overtime to secure a one-point win over the New Orleans Saints, and while it wasn't pretty, at least they got the win.
Then again, there were some red flags in Week 1. That's especially the case with Jahmyr Gibbs' usage, as he got 24 touches in regulation and five more in overtime, and while he was efficient and explosive, that's just not sustainable.
The Lions are extremely thin at running back, and Dan Campbell will ride or die with his former first-rounder. When asked about Gibbs' usage, he offered little to appease concerns about wearing him out.
Dan Campbell is playing a dangerous game with Jahmyr Gibbs
“You know what I like? Winning the game, man, and we were going to win this game. That guy's our hot hand, and ultimately, do I want to set records with how many carries? No, that's not something I want to do. When you look at a guy, and you feel like, ‘alright, man.’ He's in good shape. I mean, he had a really good camp, and he is in phenomenal shape. He's in the best shape I've seen since he's been here. Now that doesn't mean we're not going to monitor, and we're going to keep an eye on this guy because we understand that too, but we did what we had to do today,” Campbell said (h/t On SI).
This is classic Coach Campbell. He's let his passion and emotion get the best of him way too many times in his coaching tenure, and while that's one of the reasons why everyone in that building loves and respects him, he has to be smarter than that.
Gibbs' 17-game pace is 408 carries. Even if he doesn't give him 24+ carries a game in the following weeks, Gibbs has never had more than 250 totes in a single season. He was in for an expanded role after David Montgomery's departure, but this is just crazy.
General manager Brad Holmes must dig deep into the market and figure out how to solve this situation. With Isiah Pacheco reportedly set to miss at least 12 weeks, the Lions can't put this type of burden on Gibbs' shoulders for an entire season before his body breaks down.
Even if Gibbs somehow manages to take down Larry Johnson's record for the most carries in a single season (416), that would just be a disservice to him. They signed him to a record-breaking deal to ensure he'll be their workhorse for years to come, but that type of usage can seriously threaten his career.
Dan Campbell thinks like a player, and that's his blessing and his curse. He knows they want to be out there in every play, drive up their numbers, and be the reason their teams win. But part of his job is protecting guys from themselves and managing their workload throughout the season.
Hopefully, this will only be an outlier, and the offense won't need to rely solely on its superstar running back. But if this becomes a trend, someone will have to have an open-heart talk with the head coach.
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