Tag: David Montgomery

Lions Dan Campbell’s recipe for success involves physicality with a dose of creativity

ALLEN PARK — From Day One, Lions coach Dan Campbell drew up a plan for a tough and physical team. Throw in a pinch of creativity and start stacking the wins.

Not only have the Lions opened a few eyes around the NFL with a 4-1 record, they’re also a team that’s getting a reputation as being fun to watch.

In Sunday’s 42-24 win over the Panthers, center Frank Ragnow direct-snapped the ball to running back David Montgomery through the legs of quarterback Jared Goff and it was good for 10 yards and a first down. Goff on a reverse flea flicker found a wide-open Sam LaPorta for a touchdown.

Going for it on fourth down is nothing unusual. Fake punt? Dial it up. Campbell and his coordinators thrive on creativity.

“I just think for our players they’re so used to, that’s who we are. They understand that’s part of our identity. We’ll always be known, in my opinion, as a tough team. We should be a tough, physical team – offense, defense, special teams,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Monday.

“If you’re just tough and you’re just physical and you have no creativity you’re not going to do anything with it, you’ll bang away,” he added.

Campbell said he watched the 49ers’ 42-10 win over Dallas on Sunday night and credited Mike Shanahan with doing an “unbelievable job.”

“Those guys are physical, tough and very creative in the run and pass game. That’s what makes them so difficult and they play outstanding defense,’’ Campbell said.

He said his guys have gotten used to the sprinkling of unusual plays.

“If we’re going to go for it on fourth, nobody is batting an eye, there’s not pressure. This is a part of what we do, this is just another play for us to convert,’’ Campbell said.

“When we dial up some of the plays that we dial up, a little bit of the smoke and mirror plays, our guys know we’ve repped them enough that they’ve figured out, give them multiple looks, keep repping and they’ve done it enough to where they’ll make it right,’’ Campbell said.

After the win, Goff said they worked on the direct snap all week. The ball never hit his legs on the way back to Montgomery, the issue was the timing. Obviously they got that down.

The plays are effective and the players enjoy them.

“You’ve got to make it work, or they won’t call them again. Just being able to be creative and do some of the cool things that Ben (Johnson) has. I’ve never really seen some of the things he calls and how he calls it,’’ Montgomery said. “It’s fun, really fun. I’m excited to get some more of those in too.”

Campbell knows the guys enjoy running the plays.

“They have a good time when they’re able to do something a little bit out of the norm. They enjoy it. I know it’s a lot of eye candy out there,’’ Campbell said. “(Physicality) is always going to be the heart of because that’s what sets up all the other stuff.’’

INJURY UPDATE: CB Emmanuel Moseley, who was in Sunday’s game for two snaps, tore his ACL and is out for the season. He had been rehabbing from ACL surgery on his other knee which delayed his season debut until Sunday.

UP NEXT: Lions (4-1) at Tampa Bay Bucs (3-1), 4:25 p.m. on Sunday. Game was flexed from orignal time of 1 p.m.

Detroit Lions take care of business against Panthers; 5 reasons for 42-24 win

DETROIT — Each week it’s a different challenge and for the fourth time in five weeks, the Detroit Lions stepped up and finished with a win. The Carolina Panthers were no match for the Lions in Detroit’s 42-24 win at Ford Field on Sunday.

The Lions (4-1), and in first place in the NFC North, were coming off a big win at the Green Bay Packers while the struggling Panthers (0-5) were looking for their first win.

“I’m not worried about the opponents you can see eye to eye, cause I believe we can compete with anybody and beat anybody in this league,’’ coach Dan Campbell said afterward. “It’s the ones you don’t see coming.’’

These Lions seem to be up for the challenge. And while Campbell deflected a question about whether they have taken on his personality, it is clear that they have.

“You tell your team (your)  just concerns and you talk about it and your team tells you, ‘Coach ,freaking relax’ and they did that today,’’ Campbell said. “They came out and set the tone for the game and really never let off the gas.’’

They jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, were up 28-10 at the half and added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal the win.

These Lions are 12-3 since last Halloween. The 42 points was the most they had scored since a 48-45 loss to Seattle on Oct 2, 2022.

Five reasons the Lions won:

1. Turns out the turnover battle was no battle at all. The Lions’ defense forced a fumble which resulted in a touchdown pass to WR Josh Reynolds 10 plays later. Also DE Aidan Hutchinson reached in and made a one-handed interception of Bryce Young which led to a touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta four plays later. And CB Jerry Jacobs picked off Young on a first-and-10 at Carolina’s own 23. Next play Goff threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to LaPorta. Seems like a trend. “To come away with three takeaways and turn that into 21 points offensively, that’s complementary football. Just an outstanding job by those players,’’ Campbell said. “They don’t care who we play, it’s competition and they show up.’’ The Lions’ offense did not turn the ball over.

2. Quarterback Jared Goff continues his stellar play. He completed 20 of 28 passes (a few were dropped) for 236 yards, three passing touchdowns, one rushing score and zero interceptions. “There’s always more Goff can give and that’s a great thing because he is playing at a high level right now. I love where his confidence is at,’’ Campbell said. “We came out saying we wanted to throw the ball early in this game and he was on fire. We have a tremendous amount of confidence in  him.’’

3. DE Aidan Hutchinson grabbed his first interception of the season and it was a one-handed beauty. He also had a sack, two TFLs, a quarterback hit, a pass defense and three tackles. Just another Sunday. 

4. Running back David Montgomery fits the Lions like a glove – Campbell’s words not mine. While Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) was inactive, Montgomery took most of the rushing load and averaged 5.7 yards per carry for 109 yards and a touchdown. His kookiest play was a direct snap from Frank Ragnow that went between the legs of Goff to Montgomery on a third-and-6. Goff said they practiced it all week to get the timing down. It worked. Montgomery ran up the gut for 10 yards and a first down and two plays later Goff scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper. RB Craig Reynolds got work in the fourth quarter and scored his first career touchdown on a five-yard run.

5. The Lions were missing two key starters in WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) and DB Brian Branch (ankle). No problem. Others stepped up. “We’ve been doing it for three years. I guess at some point you get better at it,’’ Campbell said. “This is something we talked about after ‘21. We have to assume we’re going to lose a significant amount of our starters in the year. That’s the assumption, now what do we do with the guys we have on this roster, how do we utilize them and have enough to produce against the opponent.’’ It’s a puzzle they seemed to have solved at least for the first five games. 

BY THE NUMBERS: Sunday was LT Taylor Decker’s 100th start. He got emotional talking about the support he’s had from his family and how much he appreciates the fans. … Rookie TE Sam LaPorta scored on a pair of touchdowns. He finished with four catches for 47 yards. … WR Josh Reynolds stepped up in absence of St. Brown with four catches for 79 yards and one TD. … WR Jameson Williams saw his first action this season after a four-game gambling suspension. He dropped the first ball that Goff sent his way. He had two catches for 2 yards. Campbell said he just wanted to get Williams on the field and acclimated. He said he was not disappointed. …  The Lions finished with 377 net yards. It is the first time since 1954 that the Lions have had more than 350 net yards in each of the first five games. … LB Alex Anzalone finished with a team-high 11 tackles. He also had two quarterback hits and was a force throughout. … CB Jerry Jacobs intercepted Young, his third interception in five games. 

UP NEXT: Lions (4-1) at Tampa Bay Bucs (3-1). The Bucs had a bye on Sunday. 

Five reasons the red-hot Lions beat the Packers, 34-20, at Green Bay

With another big prime-time win, the Detroit Lions take over first place in the NFC North. Detroit rolled out to a big start in the first half and then held on in the second half to defeat the Packers, 34-20,  at Green Bay on Thursday night.

The Lions (3-1) sit atop the division alone. The Packers fall to 2-2 while the Bears and Vikings are winless.

“You’ve got to win your division games and, man, if you can get them on the road that goes a long way,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “We knew that and this is important, it’s not the end-all be-all but it is important.’’

It was Lions’  fourth straight win over the Packers. 

“Our defense continues to play well. I thought they were a force today. We talked about having energy and intensity and be able to deliver in the tough moments. I thought we did that,’’ Campbell said.

“Offensively we were able to move the football, we ran it well. We had a couple shaky spots but we closed that game out with the offense and special teams continues to play well for us,’’ the coach added.

The red-hot bunch, which has won in prime time at Lambeau and Arrowhead, has won 11 of their last 14 games.

“I’m really happy with where we’re at. I’m proud of the guys, the staff, everybody,’’ Campbell said. “That was outstanding to be able to snap back on a short week with that kind of performance. We were really good.’’

Five reasons the Lions won:

1. Detroit’s pass rush picked up where it left off in the win over the Falcons when they had 7 sacks. On two of his first four snaps, quarterback Jordan Love was sacked. It did not end there. He was sacked five times and pressured often. He rebounded a bit in the second half, but not enough. Cornerback Jerry Jacobs had his second interception with four minutes left in the game which pretty much sealed the win. He is the first Lions CB to have two INTs at Green Bay since CB Dick LeBeau on Sept. 29, 1968. “That’s what we all expected from Jerry,” Campbell said.

2. After throwing an interception on his third snap, quarterback Jared Goff shook it off and led the offense to 284 first-half yards and 401 yards total. Goff has said it’s not the big plays that make all the difference, it’s how he bounces back from a bad play. That’s exactly what he did. When the Packers were getting close in the fourth quarter, Goff led the touchdown drive. He finished completing 19 of 28 for 210 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

3. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta just keeps getting better. His 35-yard catch on third-and-5 in the first, set up the Lions’ first touchdown. He finished with four catches for 56 yards. He also has the most receiving yards and receptions through an NFL tight end’s first four career games.

4. The Lions were able to stop the run, holding the Packers to 27 rushing yards. “It’s always important that you make a team one-dimensional, but we felt like they were going to come out and take some shots early and they did,’’ Campbell said. “They tried to throw it a little bit and see if they could make some hay on the back end. They weren’t able to necessarily do that. … It was an outstanding defensive performance.’’ Quarterback Jordan Love had a tough night. He might have a bright future, but he’s no Aaron Rodgers at this point. Love was 23 of 36 for 246 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

5. On the other side, running back David Montgomery’s return sparked the Lions 211-yard run game. He scored two first-half touchdowns and added another in the fourth. Montgomery finished with 32 carries for 121 yards. He is the first Lions player to rush for 100-plus yards and three TDs in a game since RB James Stewart did so on Oct. 19, 2000. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs had 8 carries for 40 yards.

BONUS: Lions fans travel well and they was plenty of Honolulu blue in the crowd at Lambeau. Campbell said he could particularly hear them late in the third and early in the fourth. “It’s awesome. You feel like there’s a little piece of home no matter where you go,’’ Campbell said.

NEXT UP: Panthers (0-3) at Lions (3-1), 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8, at Ford Field.