There are certain comparisons Detroit Lions running backs probably learn to avoid.

Jahmyr Gibbs isn’t exactly encouraging this one, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult for everyone else to ignore.

During Detroit’s 31-24 win over the New York Jets on Sunday, Gibbs took a pitch toward the right side, saw the play collapsing and abruptly reversed course. What looked like a potential loss turned into a 17-yard touchdown after Gibbs cut all the way back across the field.

If you’re a Lions fan of a certain age, you know exactly where this is going.

The play immediately generated comparisons to Barry Sanders, and Gibbs was asked afterward what it means to increasingly hear his name mentioned alongside the greatest running back in franchise history.

His response showed he understands the weight of that comparison.

“Yeah, like I said, every time he’s here, I’ve got to step up my game, show out a little bit,” Gibbs said. “So, to be in the same conversations as him, I mean, it’s just humbling. I’m blessed to be in it. Somebody I’ve looked up to for a long time.”

Jahmyr Gibbs Gives Lions Fans Another Barry Sanders Moment

The comparison wasn’t manufactured out of thin air.

On Gibbs’ third-quarter touchdown, the play was designed to go one direction. Gibbs decided otherwise.

“I mean, that one, they knew where it was going,” Gibbs explained. “They were all like, ‘Oh, this play, boom, boom.’ And I was like, ‘No, I ain’t going over there.’ So, yeah, that’s what that was.”

Simple enough.

What Gibbs casually described as deciding he “ain’t going over there” became one of the biggest plays of the afternoon. His sudden change of direction left the Jets chasing him across the field before he found the end zone.

It was the type of improvisational run that immediately drew a Barry Sanders comparison, and Sanders happened to be inside Ford Field to see it.

Gibbs wasn’t finished.

He scored three touchdowns in Detroit’s victory, finishing with 99 rushing yards and two scores on 20 carries while adding seven receptions for 65 yards and the eventual game-winning touchdown.

That will get people’s attention.

Gibbs Is Already Climbing Lions Record Books

Comparing any running back to Sanders requires some restraint. There was only one Barry Sanders, and tossing his name around every time a Lions running back makes someone miss gets old quickly.

Gibbs, however, keeps creating statistical reasons for his name to appear in some pretty ridiculous company.

His two rushing touchdowns Sunday moved him past Billy Sims into second place on Detroit’s career rushing-touchdown list, leaving only Sanders ahead of him. Even more remarkably, Gibbs’ torrid opening to 2026 has already put him in territory no NFL player had previously reached.

Through three games, Gibbs has at least 300 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, 150 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. No player in NFL history had previously reached all four marks through the first three games of a season.

And Dan Campbell recently offered another reminder of how frightening Gibbs’ trajectory could become when he said the Lions running back still hadn’t reached his ceiling.

That’s probably the part that should make the rest of the NFL uncomfortable.

Gibbs Isn’t Trying to Be Barry

There is an important distinction here.

Gibbs isn’t declaring himself the next Sanders. He isn’t chasing the comparison or suggesting he belongs on the same historical shelf.

He’s doing almost the opposite.

Gibbs grew up admiring Sanders. Now he’s playing for the same franchise, producing highlight-reel runs inside the same building and occasionally doing it with Sanders watching from the stands.

For Gibbs, that’s enough.

The rest of us can have the argument.

And there will probably be plenty more opportunities, because Gibbs has developed a habit of turning ordinary plays into something completely different. Sunday provided perhaps the cleanest example yet.

The play was supposed to go right.

Gibbs took one look at it and essentially said, nope.

Seventeen yards later, he was standing in the end zone while Lions fans were thinking about No. 20.

Even Gibbs understands why.