David Montgomery – Page 10

Lions look to keep winning road record perfect as they face Colts

The Lions hit the road yet again on Sunday, this time to face the Indianapolis Colts. While the comforts of Ford Field are welcome, the Lions (9-1) are perfect on the road this season.

“I think our guys do a good job of honing in on the game in front of you and I do think there’s – I think we like being on the road too. We love home, you get your home crowd, and believe me, we’re all about that,’’ coach Dan Campbell said.

“But there’s also something about the challenge of going on the road and it’s just you. It’s just us and when you do something good, you don’t hear anything until our fans start going. But that’s kind of what you’re shooting for. ‘Man, let’s go make a play that shuts this whole place down and gets it quiet in here.’ So, I just think there’s a little bit of a mindset about it. We appreciate that and we like the challenge of it,’’ the coach added.

It does help that Lions fans travel well too but the players certainly have the right mindset to succeed on the road.

“I would say most of our guys – when you get in these tight moments, two things happen. You either crack or you want it, you want every bit of it. You want the ball in your hand, you want to be, ‘Run this ball behind me, I’m a D-tackle, try to run it at me. I’m the corner, I got one-on-one, I hope you throw it out here my way.’ And I think we – that’s our guys,’’ Campbell said. “We embrace that.”

The Colts, who have lost three of their last four, are coming off a 28-27 win over the Jets while the Lions have won eight straight and have won three games by 35 or more points this year, establishing a new team record.

Five things to watch:

ONE: The Lions defense has been forced to make adjustments without key players most of the season. Now Alex Anzalone is out with a broken forearm. Look for Jack Campbell to step in and call the plays. While Malcolm Rodriguez will play a key role. “It’s good to get Rodrigo back because he does, he gives us a lot of flexibility. He can play the WILL, he can play the SAM out in space, he’s been playing kind of that big nickel, and so having him back it does, it relieves a lot of pressure there,’’ Campbell said. “… He’s got a nose for the football, he’s aggressive and he just, he has production back there so it’s big getting him back.”

TWO: Colts QB Anthony Richardson, who has thrown seven interceptions, only one in his last four starts. He’s had issues this season but had a good game in the win over the Jets last week. “They’ve really opened up Richardson, so he’s got the ability to throw it downfield, he’s strong, he’s big, he can run, and these receivers are dangerous and, obviously, the back (Jonathan Taylor),’’ Campbell said. The Colts passing offense ranked 21st with just 202.2 yards per game (compared to 242.5 for Lions). Richardson will be up against the Lions safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, a tough task for any QB.

THREE: Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, along with running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, have all scored at least 9 touchdowns this season. It’s the second time in NFL history that a trio of teammates have all produced nine scrimmage TDs through the first 10 games of a season. Also, they shattered another record with the most games with a TD scored by a trio in NFL history. These Lions have gone eight games while several teams have seven games.

FOUR: Jared Goff. What can you say? He bounced back from a strange game in Houston with a perfect passer rating in blasting the Jaguars. Goff has shown more movement in the pocket which is something he’s always working on. “I think when you get a lot of clean pockets, it makes it easier when there is a little bit of mess to avoid that because it’s so obviously different,’’ Goff said. “Our O-line is so dang good and I’m back there pretty scot-free a lot of times so that when a guy does get through, I can tell the difference on that and I’m able to react to it, as opposed to – when you look around the League, some of these guys are having to move on almost every drop back and that becomes hard.”

FIVE: Za’Darius Smith expects to see more reps at the Colts after playing in his first game with the Lions last Sunday. The NFL veteran is known for his violent hands — DC Aaron Glenn calls them his superpower. He’s also been sharing his years of wisdom with his younger teammates.

“You saw it last – what, the week that he didn’t play with (Josh) Paschal, he was in there coaching him. And he does that on an everyday basis, so when you have a guy of that magnitude that’s willing to take what he has and give it to somebody else, it’s always a good thing, and he wants to do that anyway,’’ Glenn said.

LIONS INJURY UPDATE: CB Ennis Rakestraw (hamstring) is out; CB Terrion Arnold (groin) and CB Emmanuel Moseley (pectoral) are questionable.

COLTS INJURY UPDATE: T Bernhard Raimann (knee) is out; DE Tyquan Lewis (elbow) is questionable.

PREDICTION: Lions 42, Colts 17

Lions play their best aggressive football in 52-6 win over Jaguars

5 reasons why win streak extended to 8 games

It wasn’t just a win, it wasn’t just a shellacking, it was likely the best game the Detorit Lions have played in the Dan Campbell era.

The Lions (9-1) dominated the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars, 52-6, at Ford Field on Sunday for the Lions’ eighth straight win. It’s the best start to a season since 1934 and longest win streak since that same year.

In Sunday’s win the Lions set franchise records with margin of win (plus-46 points), total net yards (645) and total first downs (38).

Campbell said it was their best game to date and then gave in when asked if it was the best game he’s seen his Lions play.

“Probably top to bottom this is probably the best game — offense, defense, special teams — everything, it was pretty good, man,’’ Campbell said. “We did what we needed to do on both sides of the ball.’’

The Lions were coming off a win at Houston where the offense faltered. “We were proud of that win last week that was hard fought, but we also wanted to get that bad taste out of our mouth and we did that today,’’ Campbell said. “It’s outstanding.’’

They flicked the switch and Goff and his guys came out and scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions.

“There’s a collective will power they can use together. I really felt like we pulled on each other today and played some of our best ball up to date,’’ Campbell said. “That was satisfying always to get a win in this league because they’re hard to come by but when you play up to your potential in all areas it’s a really good feeling.’’

It’s a talent-rich offense and it showed once again on Sunday. Goff connected with nine different pass catchers and the offense finished with 645 total net yards. Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery and Amon-Ra St. Brown all scored a touchdown in the same game for the eighth time. That is the most instances of a trio of teammates doing so in NFL history.

The Lions have scored six-plus touchdowns in three-straight home games for the first time in franchise history. And they have also scored 42-plus points in three-straight home games, tying the franchise record-long streak, which was done in 1952. The franchise records crumble each week. And these Lions are not done yet.

Five reasons the Lions won:

ONE: They are a confident, talented team that plays with a violent, aggressive streak on both sides of the ball. They were heavy favorites and weren’t going to let the opportunity for their ninth win slip by. “It was an outstanding effort by a ton of players,’’ Campbell said. The offensive play stood out. “It’s fun, we were moving the ball pretty good. Our run game was pretty good, our pass game obviously pretty good too,’’ Goff said. “Everything was working. It felt like Ben (Johnson, the offensive coordinator) could call anything and we would make it work.’’

TWO: Goff was taken out early in the fourth quarter when the Lions held a 49-6 lead. He finished with a perfect passer rating (158.3) for just the second time in his career. He completed 24 of 29 passes for 412 yards and four touchdowns. It was an amazing comeback from last week at Houston when nothing seemed to go right for him and he threw five interceptions. “I thought Goff was outstanding once again. I’m not surprised, that’s the type of player we have, that’s the type of football he’s been playing for a while now,’’ Campbell said. “He’s a stud.’’

THREE: Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, or Sonic and Knuckles as they like to be called, can also be called the best running back duo in the NFL today. It’s impossible to rate one above the other. Both display jaw-dropping moves with the football in hand. Montgomery had two rushing touchdowns while Gibbs added another. Both can also be a threat in the passing game. Gibbs had a 54-yard passing play (on a checkdown) to go with his 69 rushing yards. Montgomery had 3 catches for 20 yards along with 75 rushing yards.

FOUR: Oh, and the Lions have the best safety duo in the NFL with Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Never was that more apparent than in back-to-back plays in the first quarter when Branch bulldozed Evan Engram after a 9-yard catch and then Joseph blasted Travis Etienne Jr. for no gain. Joseph intercepted Mac Jones in the third quarter with the Jaguars closing in on perhaps scoring a touchdown. Detroit’s defense held the Jags to just 170 yards, 10 first downs and two field goals.

FIVE: Wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams played outstanding against the NFL’s worst defense. St. Brown had 11 catches for 161 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Williams had 4 catches for 124 yards, including a 64-yard pass play for a touchdown where he just outran his defenders as he neared the end zone. Campbell called St. Brown their rock – he can line up anywhere and is dependable. It was Williams second game back after a suspension, he had critical catches and continues to improve each week.

INJURY UPDATE: LB Alex Anzalone is out for 6-8 weeks with a broken forearm. He left the game in the second quarter holding his arm.

UP NEXT: The Lions (9-1) at the Indianapolis Colts (5-6), 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24.

Five reasons the Lions roared back in second half to top the Texans, 26-23

Lions kicker Jake Bates answered the bell and kicked two 50-yard plus field goals in the fourth quarter on Sunday night, including the 52-yard game winner.

With his leg, Bates led the Lions to a 26-23 win over the Texans in Houston. The Lions won their seventh straight game and improved to 8-1 while the Texans fell to 6-4.

The Lions were down 23-7 at the half and it wasn’t looking good from the outside. Inside the locker room they made adjustments at halftime, came out and played a gritty second half. It worked.

“Every team gets punched in the mouth and the good ones respond. We responded,’’ said quarterback Jared Goff who threw five interceptions and a pair of touchdowns.

Houston was coming off a loss to the Jets and was fired up in front of their home crowd which included many Detroit fans.

“We had to fight our way back in there. I’m proud of the guys. There are things that obviously we have to clean up, but our guys wouldn’t go away. For our defense to play the way they played, I thought our defense played good early, we just had one play here or one play there that hurt us,’’ Campbell said.

“Second half you come out it’s four punts, two picks and a missed field goal. That’s huge. We talked about it at halftime, we needed to get our takeaways. I knew we’d wake up on offense, it was just a matter of time,’’ the coach added. “Once we were able to pull within one score you felt now we’re starting to find our way.”

Campbell said after nine games he feels really good about his team. “They haven’t done anything that would surprise me negatively,’’ Campbell said.

Five main reasons why the Lions won:

ONE: Jake Bates, a hometown Houston kid, got a well-deserved game ball. Both of his long field goals were good by inches. Hey, they all count the same. Campbell was confident in Bates in part because at the end of practice Thursday they went through an end-of-game drill and Bates hit that field goal outdoors in the wind. “I felt he was going to make it,’’ Campbell said.

TWO: Jared Goff proved once again he has ice flowing through his veins. Despite the five interceptions (he had four in the first eight games), the quarterback hung in there. Credit the Texans’ defense for pressure on Goff. He led the Lions to score 19 unanswered points in the second half. “I honestly didn’t feel like I was playing all that bad, I was seeing things well, I was throwing it well. I had some unfortunate things happen early,’’ Goff said. “I’ve been through a whole lot worse than that. I’ve been to the bottom mentally, some unlucky plays aren’t going to throw me off my game.’’

THREE: It was a sloppy game for both sides. The Lions had five giveaways and just two takeaways. A minus-3 ratio in turnovers doesn’t often lead to wins in the NFL. Carlton Davis III had both of the Lions interceptions, his first career two-interception game.

FOUR: While WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was double-covered most of the game, he had six catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. The biggest reception was on third-and-6 on the last possession when he caught a 11-yarder for the first down. Three plays later Bates kicked the game-winner.

FIVE: It was a total team defense. Campbell said he challenged the defensive line during the week to step up and help the secondary which has been playing solid football. They held the quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Texans scoreless in the second half, after allowing 23 points in the first half. Detroit’s defense had seven tackles for loss including two sacks in the first half so they weren’t playing horribly to start, just a few big plays including a 41-yard pass interference penalty hurt them. Alim McNeill, Josh Paschal and Pat O’Connor each sacked C.J. Stroud. Safety Brian Branch finished with two pass defenses, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit and a team-high 10 tackles.

BONUS: A close, sloppy win like this can pay dividends down the road and perhaps in the playoffs. In the second half, the Lions dug deep and found what kind of team they were.

NEXT UP: Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) at Lions (8-1), 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field.