Jahmyr Gibbs Breaks Barry Sanders' Touchdown Record, Named NFC Offensive Player of the Week

Detroit's engine keeps collecting honors. Jahmyr Gibbs was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday after torching the Arizona Cardinals for 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Lions' 45-21 Week 5 victory, adding five catches for 56 yards to total 207 yards from scrimmage — the most of any player in the league that week.

The two scores pushed Gibbs to 58 career touchdowns, breaking Barry Sanders' NFL record for the most touchdowns by a player before his 25th birthday. Sanders had 57. Gibbs, who turns 25 next March, now owns the mark outright.

"It's very cool that it's Barry's record, too," quarterback Jared Goff said afterward, praising a back he called "electric" and one who made defenders miss behind the line before catching passes out of the backfield. "You kind of saw the full scope of what we're capable of."

The weekly award is the fourth of Gibbs' career. Through five weeks, he ranks fourth in the NFL with 504 rushing yards on 105 carries and leads the league with nine total touchdowns, seven of them on the ground — on pace well behind history, but the back is thinking bigger. His stated goal: break Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson's single-season touchdown record of 31, set in 2006. "For sure. I'm trying to get that," Gibbs said. With his record $51.5 million extension signed in August, the franchise is all-in on him trying.