Detroit Lions fans have been waiting for rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams to make an impact this season, as the first-round selection works his way back from a knee injury suffered last year while at Alabama.
Jameson Williams’ first NFL catch is a big one
Lions rookie Jameson Williams did not take long to deliver for Detroit
Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Williams delivered his first NFL reception on Sunday, and it was a big one.
The rookie wide receiver caught his first NFL pass against the Minnesota Vikings, and it went the distance. Williams hauled in a deep throw from quarterback Jared Goff, and the play resulted in a 41-yard touchdown for Detroit:
Working off of play-action, Goff comes out of the run fake and finds Williams left all alone near the end zone. Williams works himself wide open, and while it might be his first NFL reception, there is a chance it is also the easiest reception — and touchdown — he will have over his entire NFL career.
Williams was active last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, for the first time all season, and was targeted just once in the win over Jacksonville, and the pass fell incomplete.
Sunday’s game against the Vikings is critical in the NFC North, and in the NFC at large. The Vikings can clinch the division with a win, while a victory for Detroit not only keeps their slim chance at winning the division alive, it also would go a long way towards improving their own playoff odds. According to 538.com, the Lions currently have an 8% chance at making the playoffs, but those odds would more than double — to 17% — with a win on Sunday.
Having Williams back in the lineup, and making plays like this, could help those chances.
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