Jamaal Williams is in rare company

When the Detroit Lions signed Jamaal Williams back in the spring of 2021, he was signed to back up D’Andre Swift as the offense was going through changes. As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press wrote then, it was viewed as an upgrade.
Jamaal Williams 2 22 Mar 2021, Mon Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) Newspapers.com

After his performance today, Williams has put himself among some rare air. First and foremost, he now leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns.

Jamaal Williams with his league-leading 12th rushing TD of the season 😳
(via @Lions) pic.twitter.com/RjjccvLYLh
— ESPN (@espn) November 20, 2022

Second, he is the first Lions player to rush for 3 TD’s in a game since Mikel Leshoure in 2012. With his twelfth rushing TD, he is just four away from the team record that Barry Sanders set in in 1991 of 16. In fact, he is the first Lions player since James Stewart in 2000 to have over 10 TD’s in a season. The table below does not include today’s game.

Jamaal Williams has a chance to head into the history books

Results Table
Rk	Scorer	Year	Tm	Count	Avg. Yds
1	Barry Sanders*	1991	DET	16	16.8	Full 1991 Barry Sanders TD log
2	Barry Sanders*	1989	DET	14	8.3	Full 1989 Barry Sanders TD log
3	Barry Sanders*	1990	DET	13	11.7	Full 1990 Barry Sanders TD log
4	Billy Sims	1981	DET	13	8.3	Full 1981 Billy Sims TD log
5	Billy Sims	1980	DET	13	11.2	Full 1980 Billy Sims TD log
6	Barry Sanders*	1997	DET	11	37.0	Full 1997 Barry Sanders TD log
7	Barry Sanders*	1996	DET	11	17.8	Full 1996 Barry Sanders TD log
8	Barry Sanders*	1995	DET	11	26.0	Full 1995 Barry Sanders TD log
9	James Stewart	2000	DET	10	2.0	Full 2000 James Stewart TD log
10	Dutch Clark*	1931	PRT	9	14.0	Full 1931 Dutch Clark TD log
11	Mel Farr	1970	DET	9	9.9	Full 1970 Mel Farr TD log
12	Greg Landry	1972	DET	9	5.1	Full 1972 Greg Landry TD log
13	Mikel Leshoure	2012	DET	9	3.1	Full 2012 Mikel Leshoure TD log
14	Barry Sanders*	1992	DET	9	15.2	Full 1992 Barry Sanders TD log
15	Jamaal Williams	2022	DET	9	8.7	Full 2022 Jamaal Williams TD log
16	Joique Bell	2013	DET	8	2.8	Full 2013 Joique Bell TD log
17	Dutch Clark*	1934	DET	8	28.1	Full 1934 Dutch Clark TD log
18	James Jones	1986	DET	8	1.3	Full 1986 James Jones TD log
19	Kevin Jones	2007	DET	8	2.8	Full 2007 Kevin Jones TD log
20	Steve Owens	1971	DET	8	2.5	Full 1971 Steve Owens TD log
Rk	Scorer	Year	Tm	Count	Avg. Yds

Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 11/20/2022.

The last Lions player to lead the league in rushing touchdowns was Barry Sanders in 1991. Prior to that, it was Billy Sims’s 13 touchdowns in 1980 was tied for the league lead with Earl Campbell. Not bad for a running back who was not supposed to be a starter heading into the season. But he has seized the opportunity and literally has run with it.

The Detroit Lions O-Line performance today: Flawless

In addition to Williams’ performance, both Justin Jackson (9 carries, 66 yards) and D’Andre Swift (1 rushing TD), helped the Detroit running attack to over 100 yards on the day. The offensive line also kept Jared Goff from getting sacked.

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