On Sunday, Detroit Lions fans got to see what Auburn football fans have known for several years — Kerryon Johnson is one heckuva football player.
Johnson ran for 2,494 yards in his three seasons at Auburn, including 1,391 yards in 2017 when he was named the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year. He also ran for 18 touchdowns last season (he had 20 total) and tallied 34 TDs in his Auburn career.
He also totaled 11 career games with at least 100 rushing yards — eight of those occurred last season.
Now, he has his first 100-yard game as an NFL running back.
Congratulations, Kerryon. Detroit fans are going to love you.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1044025830358183937
Entering the game Sunday against New England, Johnson had 60 rushing yards on 13 carries through Detroit’s first two games.
Then against the Patriots, he did something that, to be honest, that just doesn’t happen if you’re a Lions running back. He hit triple digits.
For the first time since Nov. 28, 2013 when Reggie Bush ran for 117 yards, a Detroit back hit the mark. That ends a drought of 70 consecutive games without a 100-yard rusher, the fourth-longest streak in NFL history.
After the game, as Auburn football fans would expect, Johnson was humble about the feat and deflected praise to his teammates:
“I think we saw a different offense today and we won,” Johnson said, according to the Detroit Free Press. “I think it helped us a lot, opened a lot of our passes, it made life a lot easier for (Matthew) Stafford and our receivers and the O-line did a fantastic job. It takes a lot to get us there, it takes a lot to do that and pass block and they did an awesome job.”
Johnson was consistent all day for Detroit. He had five carries — 3, 3, 3, 0 and 1 yards — for three yards or less and nine carries with at least five yards, including long runs for 12, 14 and 15 yards. If anything, he should have gotten more carries.
LeGarrette Blount, a bigger back used more in short-yardage situations, also ran 16 times for 48 yards.
And we all know how likable Johnson is and the sight on the sideline with Detroit running backs Blount and Theo Riddick celebrating Johnson’s accomplishment says it all:
Kerryon Johnson hits 100 yards on the ground.
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 24, 2018
The Lions haven't seen that in 70 (SEVENTY!) games.https://t.co/xnEfuZwW5a
For the record, Johnson told DetroitLions.com that he was just a teenager when Bush topped 100 for the Lions.
“Well, I graduated high school in ’15, so I was 15 years old, a sophomore in high school,” Johnson said. “I was probably winning state or something, I don’t know. But, it was a while, that’s for sure.
As beloved as Johnson is among Auburn football fans, you can imagine the outpouring of support and excitement for hitting 100 on Sunday was big. Even the greatest Detroit Lion of all-time chimed in with serious praise:
Hey @Lions fans, send your congrats to @AyeyoKEJO - 100 yards rushing for the 1st time in a while.
— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) September 24, 2018
Here’s a sampling of what other people were saying about Kerryon Johnson:
https://twitter.com/DrunkAubie/status/1044057742430932992
Inject Kerryon Johnson into my eyeballs.
— Pride of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) September 24, 2018
The amount of Kerryon Johnson tweets in my timeline is both astounding and....... DESERVED! Give that man the rock and stop it with the Blount/Riddick nonsense!
— Jason Moore (@jasonffl) September 24, 2018
Kerryon Johnson has looked better than Sony Michel tonight. Not close, to be honest.
— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) September 24, 2018
You can search “Kerryon Johnson” on Twitter and find a lot more.
For now, let’s appreciate Johnson’s accomplishment. We all knew exactly what Johnson was capable of when the Lions drafted him in the second round. Everyone is getting a glimpse of that potential now.