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FOUR DOWNS: Lions remain unbeaten on the road with Week 17 victory against 49ers…

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FIRST DOWN: ROAD WARRIORS.

The Lions have adopted a Detroit vs. Everyone approach on the road this season and have accepted the challenge of winning on the road in the NFL.

“The us against everybody mentality and how tight this group is and how close we are that comes out for us on the road,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said after Detroit beat San Francisco, 40-34, Monday night to go 8-0 on the road this season.

“Our culture, pride, and goals. Also, our fans have shown out for away games, making a difference and making them seem like semi-home games. That is crucial.”

It is the first time in franchise history that a Lions squad has gone undefeated on the road during the regular season.

“It demonstrates the type of players we have,” head coach Dan Campbell stated. “Shows what kind of players we have. We are a resilient group. We just are. We’re designed to handle tasks that not everyone can perform. You go 8-0 on the road, which shows you’re a pretty damn good club that can deal with adversity.”

SECOND DOWN: CLUTCH KERBY.

After making seven interceptions in his first ten games of the season, Lions safety Kerby Joseph went on a five-game skid.

That ended Monday night in Santa Clara, when Joesph came up with two crucial second-half interceptions, which Detroit converted into 13 points in a win against the San Francisco 49ers to move to 14-2 on the season.

Joseph is the only Lions safety to have nine or more interceptions and a pick-six in a single season since Jack Christiansen in 1957. He is also the first Lions player since Jimmy Allen (1981) to have nine interceptions in a single season.

“Really proud of him because it’s what we talked about,” Campbell added, referring to this week’s emphasis on producing takeaways. “When we needed it the most, he came through big. We had been discussing it, and we knew we needed to get takeaways, which was simply another example of playing complimentary football.

“Man, he came up big time. Not only did he make some important selections, but he also made some vital tackles in this game and performed admirably. “It was huge.”

Joseph stated that his superpower is to take away the football, and he is delighted he returned to it. He had one early in the game, but it was called back because of a penalty.

“I envisioned it,” Joseph said of his and the team’s accomplishment this season. “I knew what was going to happen. I didn’t put a figure on it; I simply wanted to lead the group. I wanted to distinguish myself and be unique. I want to be successful in this league. I don’t want to be an ordinary Joe. “I want to be amazing.

Third down: Gibbs’ Workload

The second-year running backAfter David Montgomery’s knee injury against Buffalo, Jahmyr Gibbs has been responsible for carrying the weight in the run game for the past two weeks.

Gibbs ran it 23 times for 109 yards (4.7 average) and a score as the Lions totaled 146 rushing yards in a victory over the Bears in Chicago last week.

Gibbs ran it 18 times for 117 yards (6.5) and a score in Detroit’s victory over the 49ers on Monday night, while the team gained 152 yards on the ground on 33 carries. Craig Reynolds had a solid night for Detroit, gaining 31 yards on seven carries (4.4).

Gibbs joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders (1991) as the only Lions players to have at least 1,700 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns in a season.

Best plays from Jahmyr Gibbs’ 163-yard game against the 49ers in Week 17.

Fourth down: offensive weapons.

Gibbs isn’t the only one who has had a breakout season for the Detroit Lions offense, which has scored the most points, touchdowns, and first downs in franchise history.

Detroit is the first team in NFL history to have two running backs (Montgomery and Gibbs) and two receivers (Amon-Ra St. Brown and Williams) all surpass 1,000 scrimmage yards in a single season, with wide receiver Jameson Williams contributing 75 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns against the 49ers.

Detroit is only the second offense in league history (after the Colts in 2004) to have four players with at least 1,000 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns in the same season.

“It’s really cool,” Goff said of playing quarterback with so much skill-position talent surrounding him, as well as backing up one of the top offensive lines in sports.

“And, like (Sam), LaPorta is as excellent as it gets and has done an outstanding job. The nicest thing about our organization is that it is both good and selfless. They just want to see each other thrive and win. Doing anything like that is pretty cool.”

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