Just one stat shows how right John Morton was about Lions' run game vs. Browns

Gibbs helps Morton get last laugh against Browns

If you recall, John Morton told reporters ahead of the Lions' game against the Browns that Cleveland simply hadn't seen a run game like Detroit's, and that's why they'd been so successful up to this point in stopping the run. All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett begged to differ, responding to these comments by saying, "He's entitled to his opinion. He hasn't seen a defensive front like ours...we have the privilege to see who's right."

Cleveland proceeded to allow 109 rushing yards against Detroit, bucking against their typical 70.3 rushing yards allowed per game (which skewed upward after their loss to the Lions). Clearly, Morton had a point - the Browns hadn't faced a speedy, elusive back like Gibbs yet.

While Montgomery was pretty contained for the day, only picking up 12 rushing yards, Gibbs' offense was more than enough to pick up the slack for him.

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Morton has been using Gibbs a ton to begin this year. According to PFF, the Lions have been giving Gibbs a majority of the teams' snaps on early downs, specifically 61.5 percent of them. That's a big increase from the 51.1 percent of early down snaps that Gibbs took in 2024.

Gibbs also managed to earn 86 yards on 11 carries against loaded boxes, as noted by the NFL Next Gen Stats team. This was the most yards gained against loaded boxes by any player this year.

He's continued to get better and better about taking advantage of these lower leverage situations, finally looking explosive against an elite defensive line like the Browns have. His only other breakout game this season came against the less fearsome Chicago Bears and their D-line, so this felt like a legitimate feel-good game from Gibbs.

It's much needed as the Lions will be going into Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals and Trey Hendrickson, yet another troublesome pass rusher.