Notes: D’Andre Swift wins ‘Angry Run’ of the Week

Bashaud Breeland isn’t going to forget this one.

One bright spot of the Detroit Lions in 2021 has been their running back tandem. Jamaal Williams is averaging a career-high 4.4 yards per carry, while D’Andre Swift has flashed in the running game and remains one of Detroit’s biggest threats in the passing attack.

On Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, Swift unleashed something we haven’t seen from him very often: aggression.

The 5-foot-9, 211-pound running back isn’t exactly known for his physical nature with the ball in his hands, as he typically wins with his short-area quickness and his explosive speed.

But in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, Swift took a Jared Goff pass and scampered downfield for about 15 yards before Vikings cornerback Bashaud Breeland squared up. At that point, Swift lowered his shoulder, took the hit on fully, and just absolutely bowled over the Vikings defender, sending him backwards a good 5 yards.

If you need a reminder as to what it looked like, here’s a replay:

The play set up a fourth-quarter field goal that would bring the Lions within one score late—and Swift would be the one who eventually scored that go-ahead touchdown.

NFL Network morning show “Good Morning Football” caught wind of this fantastic play from Swift and featured it on their weekly segment “Angry Runs.” Check it out:

Swift ended up winning the award, which means he’ll be sent a scepter from analyst Kyle Brandt. Hopefully, we’ll see a video of him accepted the award next week.

• Punt Field Position Optimization Specialist God

• A pair of mailbags from Lions beat writers. Kyle Meinke of MLive explains how the Lions are setting up Jared Goff to fail, while the Detroit News’ Justin Rogers talks about Tracy Walker’s future and the mood at Allen Park.

• Former Lions wide receiver Herman Moore has a nice breakdown of what went wrong on Detroit’s final defensive play of the game:

• Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic has 11 thoughts after re-watching Lions vs. Vikings ($).

• Quintez Cephus left a message on Instagram for fans after suffering a broken collarbone on Sunday:

• Zack Moran of Lions Wire breaks down the best and worst Lions performances from Week 5 according to PFF grades.