Tag: David Montgomery

Five things to watch as Lions face Vikings in regular season finale; plus injury update, prediction

It was just two weeks ago that the Lions beat the Vikings on Christmas eve. It seems longer.

That game clinched the NFC North title for Detroit. It was a huge deal.

Sunday’s rematch at 1 p.m. at Ford Field is another big deal for the Lions (11-5). While the Vikings (7-9), who have lost five of the last six, are just going home afterward, the Lions still have an outside shot at the No. 2 seed in the NFL playoffs. They need a win over Minnesota along with losses by the Cowboys and Eagles.

“You’d love to finish the season with a win, regardless of what’s in front of us after that,’’ quarterback Jared Goff said. “You want to head into the postseason with some momentum, and again, division opponent. They’re a tough team and it’ll be tough.”

You may have heard that the Lions are coming off a loss at Dallas in which they were robbed by referee Brad Allen who screwed up by not calling Taylor Decker eligible for the 2-point conversion. Fans are not over it and neither are many around the NFL who just don’t want to see any team lose in that fashion again. However, the Lions have to be over it. They’re taking their mindset from coach Dan Campbell who said he is full of controlled fury. He’s moved on and so have they.

Five things to watch:

1. While his sack numbers haven’t been as high as last year, Aidan Hutchinson has been getting pressures and getting close. At the Cowboys, he sacked Dak Prescott three times. Hutchinson could be on a roll. “You do all the hard work that you do and especially the way he plays, I mean he just, he’s relentless. He gives everything he’s got to win the rep every time and to almost, and almost, and almost get there and then you get there, and then you get there, and then you get there,’’ Campbell said. “I think that’s pretty satisfying, and I think it’s just – he’s always going to want more, but it makes you want to get more and every time you’re able to beat a double team or to beat a one-on-one a little bit faster, your confidence goes up and you gain experience doing it.” Collectively in the last game against the Vikings, the Lions collectively sacked QB Nick Mullens four times. 

2. Vikings WR Justin Jefferson ate up the Lions defense two weeks ago. Expect some adjustments in the Lions’ secondary with the return of veteran defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Jefferson had six catches for 141 yards and a touchdown in that Lions win on Dec. 24.  “He’s a difference-maker. He’s a dynamic player and we’ve got our hands full,’’ Campbell said. “But I do like our guys, man our guys are – I always believed they accept the challenge and they’re ready to go.”

3. The defense has been on a roll with takeaways — six in the last two games — which is crucial heading into the playoffs.  “I just felt like that was the last little element there for us, defensively, and they’re on the come now. They’re showing up and we’re playing aggressive-style football,’’ Campbell said. “We’re going after the football, we’re getting after the quarterback. Everybody’s doing their responsibility and then our safeties are getting hands on the ball and when they do, they’re making the plays on them. So, and then just – there again, being able to get to the quarterback and get it out of his hand is showing up. So, I want to believe that’s here to stay. My history says it does.”

4. Keep the run game moving. In the first matchup, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 146 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. While running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said the win is the thing, each of the guys could reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season. Montgomery is at 975 yards while Gibbs has 915. 

5. Look for a few changes on the field with DT Alim McNeill possibly returning. FB Jason Cabinda is expected back. What you will not see is Campbell and the coaching staff getting a look at some of the younger guys for the future. Winning this game is the only thing, getting young players reps will have to wait.

INJURIES: WR Jameson Williams (ankle), TE Brock Wright (hip) and LB James Houston (ankle) are out; DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson (pectoral), DT Benito Jones (illness) and DT Alim McNeill (knee) are questionable.

PREDICTION: Lions 31, Vikings 17. It could be a bigger differential since the Lions still have hopes of a No. 2 seed and the Vikings are done.

Lions running back duo could each top 1,000 rushing yards for season against Vikings

ALLEN PARK — Getting the win on Sunday against the Vikings is the main goal, really the only goal that really matters for coach Dan Campbell and the Lions.

Along the way, however, running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs could each reach the 1,000-yard rushing milestone for the season. They would become just the sixth pair to do so in NFL history.

“It would mean a lot for me and D-Mo and the rest of the offense, it shows dedication to the work we’ve put in throughout this whole season. It would be special for the program,’’ Gibbs said.

Montgomery is 25 yards shy while Gibbs needs 85 against the Vikings at Ford Field on Sunday. That should be an easy day for the backs who have sparked the Lions’ offense this season.

“First, obviously we want to win by any means. If we don’t get it and we win it, we’ll live with it. If we get it and win it’d be a bonus, it would mean a lot to us,’’ Gibbs said.

He and Montgomery figured out a few weeks ago that they could each reach the 1,000-yard milestone.

“I do think it’s fantastic they’re approached that point,’’ Lions assistant head coach/running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said on Wednesday. “But I’d be remiss if I said if we didn’t have the O-line that we have, if we didn’t have the tight ends that we have. If you look at our receivers in the force blocking game on the perimeter, which can be complicated, they give our guys an exceptional chance to get to the next level.’’

Coach Montgomery said the 1,000 yard marks could be special, but he won’t be giving out touches based on yardage during the game. “Everything is secondary to the team,’’ he said.

Gibbs ranks second in the NFL behind Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson (948 yards), for most rushing yards among rookies this season. 

Gibbs, a first-round pick, has had an instant impact. He said it took until about Week 5 where he felt more comfortable on the field.

“I think the easiest thing to judge is physical talent. Probably the hardest thing to judge is mental capacity and level of professionalism,’’ Scottie Montgomery said. “Those two things, he knocks it out of the park. …’’

Gibbs leads the NFL in most 20-plus yard rushes this season with 10. San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey has nine.

The rookie also ranks third in rushing average with 5.41 per game. Lamar Jackson averages 5.55 and Justin Fields 5.43.

Montgomery, who was signed as a free agent, ranks seventh in the NFL with the most rushing yards and third with most rushing yards per game, averaging 75.0. He’s also tied for fourth with 3 100-yard rushing games.

He ranks third in Lions history for most rushing touchdowns per season with a dozen. He’s in good company —  Barry Sanders had 14 and Billy Sims 13.

Already Montgomery and Gibbs have each topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage which makes them the fourth set of running backs in team history to each surpass 1,000 scrimmage yards in the same season. They also became the first set of players to each have at least eight rushing touchdowns in the same season for Detroit. 

MOVES: Veteran defensive linemen Isaiah Buggs and Bruce Irvin have been released to make room on the roster. Campbell said for Buggs it was best for the team and for him. Irvin joined the Lions late and played in just three games. “That was tough, what a blessing to have him around,’’ Campbell said. “… He’s an absolute stud.”

INJURIES: WR Jameson Williams (ankle), LT Taylor Decker (groin) and TE Brock Wright (hip) did not practice on Wednesday; LB James Houston (ankle), TE Sam LaPorta (ankle) and DT Alim McNeill had limited practice.

UP NEXT: Vikings at Lions, 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field on FOX.

Controversial ending key to Lions 20-19 loss at the Cowboys

Two-point conversion to Decker negated over official’s questionable call

After a crazy finish, the Detroit Lions came up short, losing to the Cowboys, 20-19, at Dallas on Saturday night.

Down by 7 with 1:41 left, the Lions went 75 yards downfield with no timeouts and scored when Jared Goff connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown. 

Instead of kicking the extra point for the tie, the aggressive Dan Campbell went for 2 points. In the first attempt, left tackle Taylor Decker caught the ball in the endzone, but was penalized for not reporting. Campbell was furious and was yelling at the officials. It was not a reviewable play.

Video shows Decker talking to the official before the play.

“It sucks, I don’t know if I had this feeling before when you feel like you won and you didn’t. With that being said, the next two plays we had a chance at it …” quarterback Jared Goff said. 

“What I do know – and I don’t know if I’ll get fined for this – I do know that Decker reported. I do know that (Dan) Skipper did not and I know they say Skipper did. It’s unfortunate,’’ Goff added.

Decker said the same thing.

“I did exactly what the coach told me to do. I went to the ref and said ‘report.’ It was my understanding too that Dan brings up the possibility of those sorts of plays pre-game (to the officials),’’ Decker said.

Campbell, who doesn’t usually show his emotions after a loss, was visibly upset in the post-game press conference.

“I told the offense with 1:41 left we were going to go down and score and then we’re going to go for 2 and finish this game out. I told them that, that’s what we were doing,’’ Campbell said. “We were going for the win.’’

After the Decker play was negated, on the next try the Cowboys were penalized and then Goff could not connect with tight end James Mitchell.

So the Lions, the NFC North champs, fall to 11-5 and the Cowboys keep their home record perfect at 8-0. 

“In the end we knew it was going to come down to the wire. I thought our defense played really well today minus one play that was in our hands, we were there to make a play and we didn’t. Other than that I thought we did some really really good things …’’ Campbell said.

Five reasons the Lions lost (other than the official’s apparent bad call):

1. Overall the defense played well but midway through the first, Derrick Barnes had quarterback Dak Prescott within reach for a safety, instead Prescott slipped through and connected with CeeDee Lamb for a 92-yard touchdown play. That put the Cowboys up 7-3. The defense had no answer for Lamb who had 227 receiving yards (including that 92-yarder) but they were tough against the run, holding the Cowboys to 61 rushing yards. 

2. Quarterback Jared Goff didn’t have his best night in part because the offensive line also didn’t play at its best. He was pressured often, sacked once and threw two interceptions. He was at his best in the less-than-two minute drive that ended the game. He finished 19 of 34 for 271 yards and a touchdown pass. “We had plenty of opportunities, it never comes down to one play of course. We didn’t play our best on offense throughout most of the game and did towards the end,’’ Goff said. “The second half I thought we played a lot better. We had plenty of chances to score …’’

3. The run game amassed 125 yards, but again didn’t get consistent help from the offensive line. Jahmyr Gibbs had 43 yards on 15 carries while David Montgomer carried 14 times for 656 yards and a touchdown. That double threat will be integral to the Lions in the playoffs. 

F4. Campbell is known for his aggressiveness and that did not change. In the second quarter on fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line, he went for the touchdown instead of the safe 3 points. The pass to Sam LaPorta for the TD was incomplete. In that same drive, Campbell called a fake punt that had Jalen Reeves-Maybin pass to Khalil Dorsey for 31 yards and  the first down. The Lions were 2 of 3 on fourth downs.

5. In the big picture, the defense looked playoff worthy, but the offense (while it was able to come back at the very end and almost win it) has some work to do. 

UP NEXT: Minnesota Vikings at Lions on either Saturday, Jan. 6 or Sunday, Jan. 7 at Ford Field. The schedule will be announced on Sunday.