Montgomery opened the scoring on the afternoon with a two-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter, but the rest of his afternoon was largely a struggle. The workhorse back has now scored in four consecutive contests, and his carry count Sunday was his highest since Week 5. Montgomery now gets a second crack at his old Bears teammates in a Week 14 road divisional clash.
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Rushing
| Year | Team | GP | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG | FD | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | DET | 9 | 151 | 704 | 5 | 10 | 75 | 40 | 2 |
| 2022 | CHI | 16 | 201 | 801 | 4 | 5 | 28 | 31 | 2 |
| 2021 | CHI | 13 | 225 | 849 | 4 | 7 | 41 | 43 | 1 |
| 2020 | CHI | 15 | 247 | 1,070 | 4 | 8 | 80 | 44 | 1 |
Receiving
Montgomery opened the scoring on the afternoon with a two-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter, but the rest of his afternoon was largely a struggle. The workhorse back has now scored in four consecutive contests, and his carry count Sunday was his highest since Week 5. Montgomery now gets a second crack at his old Bears teammates in a Week 14 road divisional clash.
Montgomery was a limited participant Wednesday in the Lions' first Week 13 practice, but his ability to take every rep a day later clears up any concern about his availability for Sunday's game in New Orleans. Since overcoming a rib injury following the Lions' Week 9 bye, the fifth-year running back is averaging 13.7 touches and 95.0 yards from scrimmage per game while scoring a touchdown in each of Detroit's last three contests.
Montgomery has missed three games this season on account of thigh (Week 3) and rib injuries (Weeks 7 and 8), but it's unclear if his current foot issue is something that may threaten his availability for Sunday's game in New Orleans. In three appearances since returning to action Week 10, Montgomery has totaled 41 touches for 285 yards from scrimmage and three rushing scores, while rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs has accrued 46 touches for 280 total yards and three rushing touchdowns himself during that stretch. Montgomery's status will be monitored as the week goes along to see how the Lions backfield could break down Sunday.
After Jahmyr Gibbs seemed to eat into Montgomery's between-the-tackles role coming out of Detroit's Week 9 bye, Montgomery has seen four more carries than Gibbs in each of the two games since then. He also got the nod on a number of goal-line rushing attempts after Gibbs handled four of them over the past couple of weeks, and Montgomery took full advantage of the opportunity to remain the only running back outside of Raheem Mostert to average more than one rushing touchdown per game in 2023. However, Montgomery's role in the passing game was again dwarfed by Gibbs, whose eight targets Thursday is more than half of what Montgomery has seen all year. While both running backs will prevent the other from handling a workhorse role, all indications suggest that the Lions offense should continue to support two highly-fantasy-relevant running backs heading into a Week 13 matchup with New Orleans.
Before the Lions went on bye Week 9, Montgomery missed the team's previous two games with a rib cartilage injury. The time off appears to have allowed Montgomery to heal, as Kyle Meinke of MLive.com relays that the running back didn't seem too inhibited while participating in Monday's walk-through workout coming off the bye week. In the three games this season in which both Montgomery and first-round pick Gibbs have been available, Montgomery has handily paced the Detroit backfield, averaging 24 touches in those contests. However, with Gibbs averaging 5.3 yards per carry on the season and coming off a landmark performance Week 8 against the Raiders in which he accounted for 189 yards from scrimmage, the rookie could end up poaching more work from the veteran than he had previously. Campbell told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press on Monday that he intends to take the backfield "a little by committee," adding that Gibbs will "get his fair share now."
It never seemed possible Montgomery would play prior to the team's Week 9 bye, especially given the severity of the rib cartilage issue. In Montgomery's two absences this season, Jahmyr Gibbs has tallied 148 rushing yards on 28 carries to go along with 16 receptions for 97 yards and one touchdown. Expect the rookie and Craig Reynolds to get a heavy workload against a vulnerable Raiders defense.
With two straight absences to begin Week 8 prep, Montgomery appears to be trending toward missing a second straight game due to a rib cartilage injury. The Lions will wait and see what Montgomery is able to do Saturday -- if anything -- before handing him a designation for Monday's game against the Raiders. If Montgomery is once again sidelined Week 8, rookie Jahmyr Gibbs would be in line for another turn as the Lions' lead back.
Team
Detroit Lions
Birthdate
6/7/1997 (26)
Status
Active
HT/WT
5'11", 224 lbs
Draft Info
2019: Rd 3; Pk 73 (CHI)
Birthplace
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Position
RB
College
Iowa State
Experience
5th season
Career History
Chicago Bears
2019 - 2023
(4 seasons)
Detroit Lions
2023 - Present
(1 season)
Previous Game
33
Final
28
56
YDS
3
AVG
1
TD
2023 Season Stats
ATT
RUSH YDS
RUSH TDS
REC
REC TDS
151
704
10
9
0
|
Recent Games
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rushing
|
receiving
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Date
|
Opp
|
Result
|
CAR
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
TD
|
LNG
|
FD
|
REC
|
TGTS
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
TDS
|
LNG
|
YAC
|
|
12/3
|
W 33-28
|
18
|
56
|
3.1
|
1
|
13
|
4
|
1
|
2
|
-1
|
-1
|
0
|
-1
|
3
|
|
|
11/23
|
L 22-29
|
15
|
71
|
4.7
|
1
|
15
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
11/19
|
W 31-26
|
12
|
76
|
6.3
|
1
|
20
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
22
|
11
|
0
|
13
|
14
|
|
|
11/12
|
W 41-38
|
12
|
116
|
9.7
|
1
|
75
|
4
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
10/15
|
W 20-6
|
6
|
14
|
2.3
|
0
|
6
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
19
|
19
|
0
|
19
|
26
|
|
