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Reggie Bush seemed right at home with the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon. Weaving in and out of defenders’ grasps, the eighth-year running back from USC seems to be back on track with his new team. Struggling to find an identity in his first five seasons in the NFL, Bush looked like a sure draft bust.
In fact, he didn’t get his first 1,000-yard rushing season until 2011 with the Miami Dolphins, but that didn’t stop him from trying to get even better as he got older — something that is seemingly unheard of.
It’s true, Bush was somewhat of a hero in the Lions’ week one victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. He picked up 90 rushing yards to go along with 101 receiving yards. He was on the verge of becoming the first player in Lions history to finish a game with 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving, but the veteran running back was getting beat up enough that Jim Schwartz decided to rest him a bit at the end — he actually suffered a dislocated thumb that was popped back into place.
Looking like the old days where Bush was making defenders look silly in college, Bush ran all over the Vikings’ defense. While it’s just one game into the season, it’s been a while since Detroit has had a solid running back and true weapon in the backfield.
Adding this to an already potent offense could be lethal. The rest of the league is taking notice as the Lions have something that they haven’t had since Barry Sanders. I’m not comparing Bush to the greatest running back in my lifetime whatsoever, I’m simply stating that Bush is giving fans some flashbacks to Barry.
For a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2011 and just two times in the past 15 seasons, if the offense keeps playing the way it did on Sunday against the Vikings, Detroit will be back in the playoff picture in 2013. With Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford also connecting for big plays on offense, people may forget about Bush — that will get some teams into some serious trouble.
Watch out for this team.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at .
