Jahmir Gibbs’ monster night forces the Lions to overcome the Pirates

He rejected her.

Obviously he wasn’t breathing.

Gibbs scored on a long rushing run in the second quarter, had a 5-yard dunk in the third quarter and caught a career-high 218 yards from scrimmage to lead the Detroit Lions in a 24-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.

“I felt this coming,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. “This has been built.”

The Lions (5-2) bounced back from the loss as they played flawlessly for nearly three years, continuing their NFL-long streak of 51 games without losing two straight regular-season games.

“The guys responded, which is what I knew they would do,” Campbell said.

Tampa Bay (5-2) was outgained by more than 200 yards in the first half, but trailed 14-3 because Detroit intercepted, fumbled, turned it over and missed a field goal.

Rookie Tez Johnson had a 22-yard touchdown reception to open the second half, pulling the Bucs within five points, but they couldn’t slow down Gibbs.

On the next drive, Gibbs had a 15-yard run and a 28-yard reception to set up his second touchdown that gave the Lions a 21-9 lead late in the third quarter.

He finished the third year in a row with a season-high 136 yards rushing on 17 carries and a season-high 82 yards receiving on three catches, giving him a total that trails only four showings for the franchise this century.

Gibbs is the first NFL player to rush for at least 135 yards and have 80 receiving yards plus two scores on the ground since Chris Johnson accomplished the feat with Tennessee in 2009.

“He’s a very talented running back, and when you miss a gap, he can turn it into a big play,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said.

Detroit’s Jared Goff was 20 of 29 for 241 yards with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Louis. Brown on the opening drive of the game. Goff, though, lost a fumble and overthrew rookie receiver Isaac Tesla on fourth-and-2 on the next two possessions and later threw an interception — all in Tampa Bay territory.

Baker Mayfield was 28 of 50 for 228 yards with one touchdown and one interception against a short-handed defense. Mayfield threw an incomplete pass in the end zone with 4:24 left in the game, ending hopes of a potential comeback.

“As a skill group, we didn’t connect on a lot of plays,” Mayfield said. “Once the defense knows we’re going to have to pass, they can cover their ears. That’s not a fair situation for the offensive line.”

Gibbs took advantage of the big hole and his speed to score on a 78-yard run late in the second quarter to put Detroit up 14-0.

“If I can get him to the second level, he can do the rest,” Campbell said.

After Detroit’s Jake Betts missed a 54-yard field goal, Chase McLaughlin hit a 53-yard field goal to end the half and put the Bucs on the scoreboard.

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Betts connected on a 58-yard field goal early in the fourth, hitting it upright, to give the Lions a 24-9 lead.

“It’s a tough game for every team right now,” Bowles said. “We know about the loud crowd. We didn’t execute, but they played a very good game.”

Peak time

The Lions are 13-3 in night games under Campbell and have won five straight games on Monday Night Football.