Jahmyr Gibbs joins George Teague’s playoff-touchdown club
On Jan. 8, 1994, Green Bay safety George Teague set an NFL record for the longest pick-six in playoff history with a 101-yard return in the Packers’ 28-24 victory over the Detroit Lions.
The return of an interception off Detroit quarterback Erik Kramer also made Teague the first NFL rookie who had played at Alabama to score a touchdown in the postseason.
And Teague was the only one until last week. In the Lions’ 24-23 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 14, running back Jahmyr Gibbs scored on a 10-yard run to become the second.
Teague’s interception came in the second of Detroit’s nine consecutive postseason losses – a streak snapped last week with the Lions’ first playoff victory since Jan. 5, 1992.
“The game was pretty much the same, but the vibe was really different,” Gibbs said in comparing his first NFL regular season and his first NFL playoff game. “These past home games, it’s been loud, but that was different because it was the first home playoff game in 30 years, so I expected it to be like that, and should be louder this week.”
The Lions play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 2 p.m. CST Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit in a Divisional Weekend game. NBC will televise the postseason contest.
The Lions defeated the Bucs 20-6 in a regular-season game on Oct. 15 in Tampa, Florida. Gibbs missed that game because of a hamstring injury, and Detroit posted a season-low total of 40 rushing yards.
“The O-line has a chip on their shoulder from last game,” Gibbs said. “We could have done better because we have a standard to uphold. I think we’re going to live up to it.”
Tampa Bay yielded only 42 rushing yards in its 32-9 first-round victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
“They’re a really good defense,” Gibbs said. “I wanted to play against them the first time. Unfortunately, I couldn’t because I got hurt. I’m looking forward to it. …
“They’re blitz-heavy, they run to the ball, they get the ball out and their front is very disruptive.”
After joining the Lions as the 12th selection in the NFL Draft on April 27, Gibbs ran for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns on 182 carries and caught 52 passes for 316 yards and one touchdown in 15 regular-season games.
In Detroit’s playoff victory over the Rams, Gibbs had 25 yards and one touchdown on eight carries and four receptions for 43 yards.
“I always expect a big game out of myself,” Gibbs said in anticipation of his second playoff contest on Sunday. “It don’t matter what game it is. I just want to come out on top with a win.”
The winner of the Tampa Bay-Detroit game will play the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC championship at 5:30 p.m. CST Jan. 28 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
