The Detroit Lions officially have their backs against the wall, and after Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, they likely need to win out to make the playoffs. With three must-win games remaining on the schedule, Dan Campbell and his staff need to take a good, hard look internally to save their season, and the answer could lie in the running game.
The Lions rank fifth in the NFL with 131.1 rushing yards per game and have enjoyed a monster season from Jahmyr Gibbs. But as they come down the stretch, David Montgomery has been caught in a game of whack-a-mole as Detroit has tried to navigate between two playcallers and figure out how to get the ball in the hands of their other weapons.
In short, Montgomery has become a missing part of Detroit’s offense. The team’s performance in recent weeks suggests getting him back in the game plan could be the move that gets the Lions into the playoffs.
Lions Must Get David Montgomery More Involved To Make the Playoffs
Sunday’s 41-34 loss to the Rams was an example of how things have gone wrong. Gibbs had trouble finding room against the stout Los Angeles front, running 13 times for 38 yards. While he salvaged his day with four catches for 20 yards, Montgomery was the more effective runner, carrying seven times for 32 yards.
A 13-7 split isn’t egregious by any means, but it also highlighted the issues with the Lions' rushing attack. After exploding for 219 yards and three total touchdowns in a Week 11 win against the New York Giants, Gibbs has 149 yards and three touchdowns over the past three games, seeing his yards per carry drop to 3.3.
While Montgomery hasn’t gotten the same workload as he did one year ago, he’s been the most effective runner over those three games, carrying the ball 21 times for 124 yards and three touchdowns and 5.9 yards per carry. The Detroit News’s Nolan Bianchi also noted that Montgomery has a higher success rate and also has a higher yards per carry average than Gibbs in all six of the Lions' losses this season, as well as a higher expected points added (EPA) in five of the six losses.
One theory could be that the interior of the offensive line, which is dealing with Christian Mahogany’s knee injury and a failed attempt to bring Frank Ragnow out of retirement, could be the culprit. But Pride of Detroit’s Al Karsten noted that while Gibbs has been a minus-28 in the rushing yards over expectation metric the past three weeks, Montgomery has been a plus-36. In addition, Montgomery’s average of 1.7 yards would lead the NFL if he had enough carries to qualify.
Long story short, Montgomery is still an effective runner, but his role has been reduced as Gibbs has taken off. While it would be foolish to install Montgomery as the primary runner, it would be wise to meet both backs in the middle in the same way that Campbell’s mentor, Sean Payton, utilized Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram with the New Orleans Saints.
Between the 2017 and 2018 seasons, the Saints had virtually a 50/50 split between Ingram and Kamara, with Ingram logging 368 carries to Ingram’s 314. Ingram also had 4.8 yards per carry to Kamara’s 5.1, and both backs were balanced perfectly to create a running game that ranked sixth during those two seasons.
A similar split could prevent Gibbs from being overused and get Montgomery into the flow of the game, which is something the Lions’ offense has struggled with throughout this season. It’s a balancing act that has Detroit teetering on the brink of a long offseason and could need a drastic change to win its final three games.