| Detroit Free Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When D’Andre Swift dropped the game-winning touchdown pass in the Detroit Lions’ Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears, the rookie running back swore up and down to everyone who’d listen that it would not be a sign of things to come in his NFL career.
On Sunday, playing his first professional game in a stadium in which he had so much collegiate success , Swift made good on his words.
Swift ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries and the Lions got their best defensive effort of the season to thump the Jacksonville Jaguars, 34-16, at TIAA Bank Stadium.
“The thing I like about him is just nothing really fazes him,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “He made a mistake like that and just keeps it moving and knows he’s going to make great plays later in the game. He’s got a lot of confidence in himself and his teammates. We have a lot of confidence in him, really all the guys on this team. So he’s just another big part of it and done a really nice job as a young guy.”
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Swift, a second-round pick in April’s draft, saw his most extensive workload of the season Sunday in the Lions’ first game out of the bye.
He broke a broke a 54-yard run on his first play from scrimmage, logged most of his career-high 14 carries while playing behind a makeshift offensive line and helped the Lions build what — finally — was an insurmountable double-digit lead when he scored on a leaping 1-yard run early in the second quarter.
The Lions, who had lost six straight games in which they held double-digit leads, including all three defeats this year, played with a rotating cast of linemen Sunday after starting right tackle Tyrell Crosby and right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai left in the first half with dehydration.
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Matt Nelson, a converted defensive lineman who played exclusively as a sixth offensive lineman in the first four games, finished Sunday at right tackle and helped the Lions rack up a season-high 180 yards rushing.
“Just give credit to our guys,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said. “I thought our guys handled the last two weeks really well. They ignored everything and went out and played aggressive. It was great to see.”
Patricia, in particular, and the Lions as a whole, have come under intense scrutiny this year for their persistent losing and repeated on-field struggles.
They squandered leads of 17, 11 and 14 points in losses to the Bears, Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints, and Patricia entered Sunday’s game with many believing he risked losing his job with another loss.
Sunday’s win, against one of the worst teams in the NFL — the Jaguars (1-5) have given up at least 30 points in five straight games — won’t alleviate that pressure, but it at least gives the Lions something to build on as they embark on a winnable stretch of games now through Thanksgiving.
The Lions (2-3) play the lowly Atlanta Falcons next week, and face just one team with a winning record before December. The Falcons (1-5) beat the Minnesota Vikings, 40-23, on Sunday for their first win of the year.
“We definitely see the equation (for winning), when we put four quarters together, even though we can be a lot better,” defensive end Trey Flowers said. “I think that’s for us, being able to do that, putting that out there, we see the equation. So we know we got to go back to the drawing board in practice, put the focus on all the little things that we did throughout the week that resulted in this win. And we just got to keep playing.
“A lot of people probably discredit us, but it’s still hard to win in the NFL. That is an NFL team and they got a lot of great skill guys, especially on offense and on defense. It’s hard to win and this win is a win.”
The Lions dominated play from the start Sunday, forcing a three-and-out on Jacksonville’s first possession and following with a 10-play touchdown drive.
Swift, who went 3-0 at TIAA Bank Stadium against Florida during his Georgia career, added his first touchdown of the day on the next series, and the Lions led comfortably, 24-3, when Stafford threw his first career touchdown pass against the Jaguars — the only opponent he had failed to throw a TD against in his first 11 NFL seasons — midway through the third quarter.
Stafford finished 19-of-31 passing for 223 yards, Swift added a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and Kenny Golladay had four catches for 105 yards. Swift and Golladay became the first Lions teammates to top 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game since 2013.
Defensively, the Lions forced two Gardner Minshew turnovers — a fumble and an interception — and held the Jaguars (1-5) to a season-low 44 yards rushing.
“It wasn’t necessarily a statement,” Lions safety Duron Harmon said. “We just knew we could play better and we just needed to find a way to play better and I think we did that. I mean, I wouldn’t say statement because doing it for one game means nothing. I mean, we got to find ways to be consistent and that’s what have to do now.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.