Detroit, MI

Jahvid Best knows how hungry Detroit Lions fans have been for a winner. And the Lions running back was more than happy to satisfy fans with an outstanding rushing performance on Monday Night Football.

Best rushed for 163 yards on 12 carries including an 88-yard scoring jaunt to help the Lions improve to 5-0 on Monday night with a 24-13 win over the Bears at Ford Field.

It was the Lions' first "Monday Night Football" appearance in 10 years, and despite a close loss to the 49ers Sunday the team is still poised for a playoff run at 5-1.

Best helped to make it a memorable appearance with his performance. The Lions haven't had a particularly strong running game all season. But Best had 353 yards on 71 rushing attempts after five games.

And it came on Monday Night Football.

"That means a lot to me," he said. "It was a Monday night game. The biggest thing is just the win. Now we're 5-0. We have a short week. We have to bring our focus back to the next opponent."

His 88-yard run was the second longest in franchise history.

"It was just an inside zone play," he said. "The O-line just made a little crease and I just hit it and ran as fast as I could."

Best pointed at the end zone about 18 yards before getting there but insisted he wasn't hotdogging it.

"I figured if I get in that open field, nobody should catch me. So, I knew no one could get me from behind."

In the fourth quarter, with the Lions clinging to the lead, Best had some other key runs including a 43-yarder to help Detroit put the game on ice.

"Those were huge runs," he said. "We wanted to keep their offense off the field, so we had to stay on the field in order to run the clock off. Getting those first downs was really crucial. The O-line just did a good job on getting me some creases."

The running game seemed to come together for the first time this season as the Lions had previously relied heavily on the rushing talents of Matthew Stafford.

"It was nothing new," Best said. "We were still kind of doing the same thing. It's just that the creases were a little bit wider today."

The crowd at Ford Field was 67,861, a record for a Lions game at the facility. The noise from Lions fans was deafening.

"It was crazy out there," Best said. "The fans, I think, caused (the Bears) at least six or seven false starts. The place was rocking. It was a lot of electricity in the air. We were definitely feeling it."

Best noted that some of the current Lions have been on teams that struggled to win in the past and played on the infamous 0-16 squad in 2008.

"They know what the city has been through and know what the team has been through," he said. "I've been fortunate to come on the upside of things. I can definitely feel the sense of how hungry the city is and how hungry this team is."

Best was picked in the first round (30th overall) by the Detroit Lions in the 2010 NFL Draft with the idea he would provide the team with speed and elusiveness. Best played in 15 games his rookie season and gained 555 rushing yards on 171 tries while scoring four touchdowns.

He caught more pass catches, 58, ever by a Lions rookie for 487 yards with scoring runs of 75 and 53.

Best's 88-yard touchdown scamper was a thing of beauty, especially to Lions like quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has been looking for a running threat to take pressure off the Lions' passing game.

"I think it's just execution more than anything," Stafford said. "Guys up front did a great job and Jahvid did his thing when he got into the secondary. The long one was unbelievable. (I) thought he was going to be 30, 40 yards maybe and he just outran everybody. It was great to see, happy for him. He really carried us there in the fourth quarter with some crucial plays."

Last season, Best was the first rookie in the league to score five touchdowns in his first two career games since Billy Sims did the trick. Ironically, another Lions running great, Barry Sanders, was at the stadium to be an honorary captain in the pregame coin toss.

Best said he didn't have a chance to talk with Sanders. But Lions coach Jim Schwartz thinks Sander's presence didn't hurt anything.

"It's an example of having Barry Sanders in the house," he said. "Maybe that rubbed off a little bit. Our run game is obviously a compliment to our pass game. I think we're committed to the run, but we also needed some explosive runs, it's where we were lacking. Obviously, we had that (against the Bears)."

 

 

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