John Niyo: ‘Electric’ star remains grounded despite the Lions’ surge.

Jahmyr Gibbs’ NFL career is still in its early stages after only eight months in Detroit.

But it seemed like each week, the Lions’ rookie running back learns something new about the league and his place in it. For that matter, his team’s place. “Yeah. “I was talking to someone earlier, and they said fans used to come to games with bags on their heads?” he asked Wednesday, his countenance a strange mixture of laughter and bewilderment. “I guess the stadium was pretty empty back then.” But it’s now electric. The entire fanbase is rooting for us. And it appears to me to be in good condition.”

As it should be, with the Lions poised to win the division crown for the first time in three decades. That was a long time ago for Gibbs, the 21-year-old rookie who has given this city — and this team — a jolt with his playmaking ability, forging a potent backfield duo with veteran David Montgomery.

They have a chance to become only the eighth pair in NFL history to carry for 1,000 yards in the same season. While Montgomery carried the majority of the load at first, Gibbs has emerged as one of the league’s most dangerous backs, averaging more than 100 scrimmage yards per game over the last two months — he’s over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving for the season — and emerging as one of the league’s most dangerous backs.

“I mean, he’s been electric really since he stepped on the field for us,” said Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on Thursday. “But, I don’t think any of us were surprised by it.”

No, this is why the Lions chose him in the 12th round in April, when general manager Brad Holmes traded down from the sixth overall pick and startled many outside of Allen Park by selecting a running back with the 12th pick.

And it’s for this reason that head coach Dan Campbell felt compelled to defend his general manager after Saturday’s 42-17 rout of Denver, which featured five touchdowns from Gibbs and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who was selected with the additional pick (No. 34) acquired in Holmes’ draft-night trade.

“Took a lot of criticism for those two picks,” Campbell said, before adding sarcastically, “but they look like they’re OK.” They look better than that, obviously.

LaPorta already holds the majority of Detroit’s rookie tight end records, and he’s on course to break the NFL rookie reception record with three games remaining. Gibbs, meantime, leads all eligible NFL backs — not just rookies — this season in yards per carry (5.7) and explosive rushes of 20 yards or more (ten).

He’s also 36 total scrimmage yards behind Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson, who was picked tenth overall in his class, and only 17 behind D’Andre Swift, the player he replaced in Detroit. Despite having played two fewer games than both of those individuals.

And when I asked the soft-spoken Gibbs this week if he took any sa

“Yeah, it feels good, knowing that you shut ‘em up,” he said. “But, I don’t want to think about it too much.”

Not with so much on the line right now, beginning with Sunday’s game against the Vikings in Minneapolis. With a win or a tie in that game, the Lions will have secured a postseason berth, as well as the NFC North title and a home playoff date in January. And the significance of that isn’t lost on Gibbs, even if he was just a first-grader when the Lions went 0-16 in 2008.

“I mean, I know we have a chance to do something that hasn’t been done in a long time,” he added. “We’re very excited about that.” We are aware that we have a chance. But now it’s up to us to take use of it.”

Much like Gibbs did with his opportunity in Detroit, he was added as a supporting element to an offense that was already a top-five squad in the NFL. Back in September, the Lions eased him in gradually, restricting the rookie’s workload while Montgomery piled up the touches, yards, and touchdowns in the team’s 5-1 start.

Back then, Gibbs seemed satisfied to wait — “I wasn’t really trippin’,” he says — and even now, he believes he enjoys watching Montgomery score touchdowns as much as he enjoys scoring himself. When Montgomery was injured with damaged rib cartilage following the Lions’ victory in Tampa, Gibbs, who had missed two games in October due to a hamstring issue, quickly shown he’s ready for more.

“After the Baltimore game, I’ve been on a stretch since then,” said Gibbs, who has 100 carries for 613 yards in the eight games since. “My role has changed. I’ve gotten a lot more time, I understand the offense better and the game has gotten slower for me.”

His speed, on the other hand, has been on display throughout, as evidenced by all those explosive runs — his league-leading 10 are two more than Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers — and the climbing touchdown total. He didn’t score his first NFL touchdown until Oct. 22 against Baltimore, but he now has eight (seven rushing) in the last eight games.

“It felt strange not scoring until Week 7, but it feels natural now,” said Gibbs, who told me before the season that his aim was to score 12 touchdowns — three more than last year’s rookie leader, Seattle’s Kenneth Walker. “Where am I now?” Eight? I can still finish it.”

Without a doubt, what he’s doing today is outstanding. The burst is stunning, but Gibbs’ ability to bounce off would-be tacklers — he has more yards after contact (328) than either Robinson or Swift — is just as impressive for a 5-foot-9, 200-pound back.

“He makes us look good, I know that,” said Hank Fraley, the Lions’ offensive line coach. “He’s special.”

Yet Gibbs’ demeanor, on and off the field, suggests none of this feels out of the ordinary.

“I’m confident in myself and what I can do,” Gibbs said. “And I knew I was gonna be able to do this.”

As for what he’ll do next, that’s hard to say. Along with Montgomery, he’s making a late run at a Pro Bowl selection in the NFC. But Louis Riddick, a former NFL personnel director who now serves as an ESPN analyst, suggested last week that Gibbs will be a leading MVP candidate next season.

For now, though, Gibbs says he’s simply focused on the task at hand, which is to make sure the fans filling Ford Field these days get to see a playoff game in Detroit next month. And If there’s one thing he’s figured out as a rookie, it’s this: “We write our own narrative.”