WATCH: D'Andre Swift takes a screen pass 63-yards for a touchdown
Former Georgia running back D’Andre Swift was questionable coming into the Lions-Rams game with a groin injury that has nagged him the entire 2021 season. Well, after catching a screen pass from Jared Goff and turning on the afterburners for a 63-yard touchdown early against the Rams, it’s safe to say he is feeling just fine.
The score put the Lions up 7-0 early in the first quarter with 12:07 remaining after the extra point.
The Lions have come to play early in the Rams-Lions game today, as they currently lead 10-3 early in the 2nd quarter.
Swift has shown the ability to play while injured for most of the 2021 season for the Lions and he’s played at an incredibly high level.
He’s been an incredible running back at every level of football he’s played. First in high school (St. Joseph’s Prep), then in college (Georgia Bulldogs), and now with the Detroit Lions.
Thus far in 2021, he’s actually made more of an impact as a pass-catcher with the Lions, hauling in over 30 catches for over 300 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
He’s formed a pretty dynamic 1-2 punch with fellow backfield mate Jamal Williams. Williams came to the Lions from the Packers but has fit in nicely and helped to ensure that Swift can remain fresh. In 2021, Williams has rushed for over 250 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 59 carries.
While the Lions haven’t won any games yet in 2021, they’ve remained very competitive in a number of their games and lost two heartbreakers as time expired to the Vikings and the Ravens.
Swift at Georgia
D’Andre Swift established himself as one of the latest and greatest Bulldog running backs during his time in Athens. Georgia is a place known for top-tier running backs and Swift certainly etched his name in Bulldog lore.
When he hung his cleats up at Georgia, he rushed for 2,885 rushing yards for his career, good enough for seventh on the Bulldogs’ all-time rushing list. He’s an elite pass-catching running back and he demonstrated that in college as well. In 2019, he didn’t drop a single pass for the Bulldogs (he caught 24 passes that year). Swift only dropped three passes for his entire career at Georgia. The former U.S. Army All-American caught 73 passes for 666 yards for his entire college career.
Another impressive stat from his college profile at Georgia: he averaged more yards per carry (6.6) in college than any other running back in school history. That’s incredible considering the amount of NFL running backs the school has produced (Herschel Walker, Nick Chubb, Todd Gurley, Knowshon Moreno).