Jameson Williams read it perfectly.
He saw the Minnesota Vikings safety crashing down, biting on play action, so he took off deep.
“It was how the play was designed up,” Williams said after the Detroit Lions’ 34-23 victory on Sunday. “If they do this, we’re gonna do that. If they do that, we do this.”
Ah, the old this-or-that play.
In the end, his assignment turned into this: sprint for the end zone, baby.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff dropped back to pass and saw the same thing — that’s important in the big picture and shouldn’t be dismissed. The fact that they were on the same page is important and encouraging.
Goff lofted the ball deep and hit Williams around the 5-yard line.
Williams was beyond wide open — there wasn’t a defender within 10 yards.
“I knew if the safeties dropped down, it was over the top,” he said.
Williams caught the ball — his first in the NFL.
And he sauntered into the end zone for his first NFL touchdown.
“My motto is, when I touch the ball, I’m trying to go to the crib every time, no matter what route it is, so it just happened,” Williams said.
The crib is the end zone.
“Does it make you nervous to be that wide open?” Williams was asked.
“Oh no, I never, I never get nervous,” he said.
Of course not.
LIONS GRADES:Dan Campbell, Jared Goff get As after throttling Minnesota Vikings
The play, itself, was spectacular. But the decision making — knowing the play, reading the defense on the fly and then turning on the after burners to get so wide open — was the impressive part.
“I feel good,” Williams said. “It was just something I was looking forward to for a long time. It was long time coming, man. It was good.”
A fun celebration
The catch was one thing; the celebration was even more fun.
Williams stopped in the back of the end zone and stretched out both arms, still holding the ball, soaking in the moment.
“Man, it was just, I’m here man,” Williams said. “That’s why you saw the hands in the air. I’m here.”
He picked a heck of a time to arrive.
This star wide receiver from Alabama, who missed most of this season recovering from a knee injury, is still raw, still learning, but he can do things that few can do.
And he apparently celebrates like few others, too. He ran along the edge of the field, celebrating with the fans, jacking them up even more, like he was one of them.
He stopped and gave the football to his father, standing in the front row.
“I was just excited,” Williams said. “I just handed the ball to my pops. Just excited to get the crowd going. I was excited to get everybody going man. That was the main thing.”
SHAWN WINDSOR:Dan Campbell’s gambles prove he knows his Lions, who have put the NFL on notice
The crowd was going crazy, as Williams kept jogging behind the Lions bench, near the stadium wall, enjoying every second.
His helmet came off and he wore a blue cap over his head, like some new form of superhero.
And he wound up on the other side of the field — he had done half a victory lap.
A Lions fan appeared on the stadium big screen holding a sign: “Wow!”
Indeed.
The cherry on top
After the game, as the two teams started to mingle, Williams had a brief chat with Vikings star Justin Jefferson, who had 11 catches for 223 yards.
The mutual respect was clear.
“It was just a wide receiver link-up,” Williams said. “He liked what I did. I liked what you did — 200-plus, man, it was crazy.”
Now, here’s the amazing part.
Williams had just one catch.
Right now, the Lions have the luxury to bring him along slowly. He is like a cherry on top of this attack. Nine different players caught passes for the Lions, including right tackle Penei Sewell, who had the play of the game.
“That was great man,” Williams said. “Actually, he kind of caught that pass the same way in practice. So I wasn’t really worried. I knew it was coming.”
Goff finished with 330 yards and three touchdowns.
“I love his game,” Williams said. “He’s a great quarterback. You see how well he does in offense. We’ve had a lot of great offensive games. I’ve stated that before. And I feel like the offense keeps his team going, with the defensive mixture how they how well they play. It’s just it’s just great how we how we combine that and then just get the win.”
Remember the old days when the Lions would win a game and then lose a game that they should have won?
Or how they would take one step forward and two steps back?
That’s not happening lately.
Because the defense was making plays and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has dialed up some fantastic game plans.
“It’s a great offense,” Williams said. “Coach Johnson, he’s got great offensive plays.”
The kind that go right the crib.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.