Allen Park — If he didn’t play another snap this season, you could make a strong argument Detroit Lions running back Jamaal Williams has had the best year of his career. That’s all the more remarkable when you consider he hasn’t even hit the halfway point.
Through eight games, Williams has rushed for 545 yards, is averaging 4.3 yards per carry, and has scored a personal-best eight touchdowns. He’s on pace to top his career-high in yards this week in Chicago and well on his way to becoming the first Detroit back to run for 1,000 yards since Reggie Bush in 2013.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said Williams has been exactly what they expected after signing him as a free agent two offseasons ago.
“I love dependability,” Campbell said. “I love to know what a player brings to the table. He is one of our most consistent players week in and week out. You know exactly what you’re going to get out of him. You know exactly what he’s going to do for you, the production in the run game. You know how he’s going to protect. You know that in the pass game, the checkdown, he’s going to be exactly where he’s supposed to be. He’s as steady as they come, so he’s been a solid force for us, man. I’m glad we got him.”
After playing fewer than 30% of the team’s offensive snaps last season, the Lions have had to lean more heavily on Williams his second year with the franchise. Originally expected to split the backfield load with D’Andre Swift, the dual-threat complement has battled injuries all season, sidelining him three games and highly limiting in two others. That’s left Williams to play 42.2% of snaps this year, while his 126 carries represent nearly two-third’s of the Detroit backfield’s workload.
“I think since we got him even a year ago, he’s been the model of consistency for us offensively,” offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “He runs hard. It might not be flashy or sexy all the time, but he finds a way to always ben falling forward when he’s being tackled. He’ll find creases. He’s got great vision, and he’s shown the ability to break tackles and potentially have some explosive runs for us too.
“…He has been exactly what we want from a physical, downhill running back,” Johnson said. “He’s really embraced that role and especially with Swifty being dinged up here and there, he’s been able to take on a greater workload, and it’s been a great thing for us offensively.”
Williams played a critical role in Detroit’s victory over Green Bay last Sunday. When the offense was struggling early in the second half, he took six consecutive handoffs during a third-quarter touchdown drive that proved to be the difference in the game. He finished the contest with a career-high 24 carries, while also scoring on a successful two-point conversion that doesn’t show up in that tally.
“We were able to rely on our offensive line and our ground game, and you — at least I could on the sideline — could feel where we were wearing them down a little bit,” Johnson said. “And once again, it wasn’t like we were getting explosive gains, but it was the consistent three, four, five (yards). We methodically took it down the field that way and I think that’s a great thing to have. I think we’ve shown over the course of the season we have the ability to be explosive, but at the same time, we can extend the drive and play a little bit more small ball if needed, whatever is called upon, and Jamaal is a big part of the reason why we’re able to do that.”
Riding high on performance
After taking a season’s worth of criticism for the team’s defensive struggles, coordinator Aaron Glenn was awarded the game ball by Campbell after the Lions held the Packers to nine points in Sunday’s win. It was a special locker room moment, with Glenn’s players wildly celebrating their coach who has been under fire all year.
“It was shocking to be honest with you, and I guess shocking because for a defensive coordinator to get a game ball, I was very appreciative,” Glenn said. “I’ll tell you what, I was really more appreciative of the players than anything else because it shows the belief that they have, not only me, but us as a defensive staff. But man, all the credit goes to those guys. I mean it was a number of guys that made some great plays in that game. To see our young guys the way that they’re coming out, the way they’re playing, it’s good to see because they can only get better.”
Beyond the belief Glenn feels from the players, he said the game against the Packers was important because it helps cultivate belief in themselves.
“Obviously excited about the win that we had, really excited about the way the defense played, but I guess more excited of the fact that our defense was on the field at a critical time at the end of the game to put the game away,” Glenn said. That was something that our guys needed because belief starts to stick. And I’ve said this to you guys before, belief is a powerful drug. So that’s something that we’ve got to continue to do, and I’m proud of the way our guys fought. I’m proud of the energy, the execution, just overall, the sideline, it was outstanding.”
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Adjusting on the fly
The Lions have dealt with worst-than-average injury issues this year, which has had an under-the-radar impact on special teams.
Before the season even started, two critical players to those units, fullback Jason Cabinda and safety C.J. Moore, suffered long-term injuries. And in the weeks since, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp has had Bobby Price, who was leading the team in special teams snaps, and Craig Reynolds also go down. Meanwhile, rookie linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez (elbow) is banged up and might not play this week.
That’s left Fipp having to constantly shuffle the deck, while avoiding any potential drop-off in performance.
“It’s fun, I guess, at the end of the day for me,” Fipp said. “There’s an initial wave of emotion that’s probably like, ‘Oh, man,’ if you’re being honest. But there’s a second one where you’re like, ‘OK, how can we use that to our advantage?’ They don’t know who is going to play, where we’re going to line them up, how we can move some other guys around.
“You can try to find ways to use it to your advantage,” Fipp said. “It would be much like my perspective on life, trying to find some optimism there, something good you can turn out of something negative.”
Injury update
After being given a day of rest following his heavy workload Sunday, Williams was back on the practice field Thursday. Rookie cornerback Chase Lucas, who has been battling an ankle injury, also returned, in a limited capacity.
That left just one player sidelined Thursday, wide receiver Josh Reynolds (back). He missed last week’s game after suffering the injury in practice and is trending toward missing a second consecutive week when the team travels to Chicago to play the Bears on Sunday.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers