Kenny Golladay proves he can be Detroit Lions' main weapon on offense

Jeff Seidel | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Dissecting Detroit Lions RB situation and more after win over Panthers Free Press sports writers Dave Birkett and Carlos Monarrez dissect the Lions' RB situation and more, after the 20-19 win over Carolina, Nov. 18, 2018.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay looked like a kid diving into a pool. The wrong way. About to do a back smacker.

Both of his feet were in the air and he was about to make contact.

Only there was no pool.

This was the fourth quarter of an NFL game, and the game was on the line.

But Golladay looked relaxed and confident, even though Carolina Panthers corner back James Bradberry was draped all over him.

Golladay was soaring through the air, looking up for a pass from Matthew Stafford, and he snagged the ball with both hands and landed in the end zone on his back for a 19-yard touchdown in the Lions’ 20-19 victory.

It was amazing, really.

Strong. Athletic. Fearless.

“He just gave me a nice, pretty, high ball,” Golladay said. “I like balls like that. I can use my size, my hands, my athletic ability to go up there and catch it.”

Golladay did more than catch a touchdown pass on Sunday afternoon. He passed a huge test and proved he canbe the No.1 guy for this team, even when there are no other guys.

The Lions played on Sunday without Marvin Jones, who was out with a knee injury. And, of course, they played without Golden Tate, who is long gone.

That left Golladay, a second-year pro, and some other guy who was practically still wearing a name tag: "Hello, my name is Bruce Ellington."

But Golladay came through by making play after play. On a day when running back Kerryon Johnson was in the locker room with an injury, Golladay proved he can perform in the clutch.

“Of course, they know Golden is gone, they know Marvin is out, so who else are they going to look to?” Golladay said. “And you know, I just got to take that challenge, take on that challenge. The whole offense has to take on the challenge. They’re going to double me and do whatever they want to do and other guys pick up the slack, which we all did, it was a collective effort out there today.”

Golladay was targeted 14 times, caught a career-high eight passes for 113 yards.

“He had a lot on his shoulders, coming into this game against a really good opponent and a really good corner,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said, “and I was happy for him.”

Golladay seemed to be everywhere on Sunday.

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There he was, ripping the ball away from Bradberry, preventing an interception and picking up a first down, turning a huge negative into a positive.

There he was, catching the ball over the middle and breaking two tackles.

He looked like a grown man playing against kids.

But it wasn’t against kids.

It was against Luke Kuechly, a four-time first-team All Pro linebacker.

And there he was, running a fantastic route, stopping at the sticks and then busting it deep for a 36-yard gain.

“You know, Kenny is just a guy that comes to work every day,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said. “He comes to work, he runs his tail off, and he tries to make plays as much as he possibly can. He’s a guy that competes, you guys see it rarely out there but he makes some big plays and starts to celebrate. That’s the only time we see him show emotion, too. I’m just happy for him, obviously he’s put a lot of work in. He had a lot on his shoulders coming into this game against a really good opponent and a good corner, I was happy for him.”

Golladay showed everything in this game.

The ability to catch the short passes.

The ability to go up and get the ball, even when he’s falling into the end zone.

And the ability to just take the ball away from the defense.

“I go in there every week the same,” he said. “You never know who, what number’s going to be called. Any time my number’s called, I’m out there going hard. Even when my number’s not called, I’m going hard to set up other people. I didn’t treat this week no different, there was never no pressure.”

He showed speed and strength and passion.

That was the cool part.

The passion.

The way he celebrated.

“That’s the only time we see him show emotion, too,” Stafford said.

Clearly, Stafford and Golladay have built up a trust.

“He doesn’t say much and those guys with that quiet confidence, I feel good about,” Stafford said.

Still, I walked away thinking, “Man, I wish they would get him the ball even more.”

Because once again, the Lions learned an important lesson: Really good things happen when they get the ball to Golladay.

He can be the guy.

The main guy.

Especially when the game is on the line.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.