Halftime analysis: Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs continue to enjoy monster rookie seasons

DETROIT — Brad Holmes didn’t make many friends on draft night when he traded back in the first round, then used those picks on a running back and tight end.

OK, so Jalen Carter would have looked pretty good in Honolulu blue.

But Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta continue to look really, really good too.

Both rookies are off to sensational starts this season, and both have scored touchdowns to help Detroit jump to a 21-0 halftime lead on Saturday night against the Denver Broncos.

LaPorta has been doing this all season of course, already setting the franchise record for catches and yards by a rookie tight end. Now he’s set the record for touchdown catches too, hauling in a short pass from Jared Goff, then shaking one defender before running through another for a 19-yard touchdown. That’s his seventh of the season, matching Joseph Fauria’s record from 2013.

He now has 69 catches overall, which is third most by a rookie tight end in NFL history.

LaPorta’s scoring grab snapped a streak of 10 straight drives without a score for Detroit. They didn’t have to wait nearly as long for their next strike. On the very next possession, Gibbs ran for 21 yards on the second play from scrimmage, and just like that, Detroit was back in the red zone.

Gibbs finished off the threat himself, running a crisp little crossing route between two defenders and then streaking into the end zone for the score.

Gibbs accounted for 32 yards on five touches overall in the first half, pushing him past the 1,000-yard barrier from scrimmage. He’s the third rookie to do that in the NFL this season, and the first Lions rookie to accomplish the feat since Jahvid Best in 2010. The only others to do it in Detroit: Kevin Smith, Kevin Jones, Barry Sanders, Billy Sims and Mel Farr.

Yes, Carter would have helped this defense. Anyone with a pulse would have. But Gibbs and LaPorta are younger, cheaper and better than their predecessors, and look like cornerstone pieces for years to come.

Then Amon-Ra St. Brown flipped into the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown just seconds before the break, adding an exclamation point to an explosive second quarter. Detroit is now two quarters from taking a three-game lead in the NFC North with three games to play.

This division is about to fall.