DETROIT – Nobody talks about David Montgomery.
The entire city of Detroit just spent the past five months -- pretty much ever since the NFL Draft -- buzzing about the Lions.
We fawn over Amon-Ra St. Brown. And Penei Sewell. And Jameson Williams. Jared Goff’s name gets chanted at completely unrelated sporting events and random hardware stores.
But Montgomery? Nah. Not really. He’s not even the team’s most popular running back.
READ: Lions bully Rams in overtime to win thrilling opener at Ford Field
But it wasn’t Jahmyr Gibbs who rescued the Lions on Sunday night. Or Goff. Or certainly St. Brown.
With the offense sputtering for most of the night, Montgomery took the rock in overtime and demoralized the Rams with run after run -- and he didn’t slow down until he reached the Honolulu Blue end zone.
Third down struggles
Everybody wanted to know what this revamped Lions defense would look like against Matthew Stafford and the powerful Rams passing attack. But it was actually the offense that nearly kicked off the Lions season with a loss.
The Lions went three-and-out three times in the second half, and Goff also threw an interception. If not for a 52-yard bomb to Jameson Williams, the Lions offense would have been completely nonexistent after the break.
On seven third-down attempts of 4 yard or more, the Lions converted just once -- on a Goff seven-yard scramble, no less. The six failed attempts resulted in one sack, four incomplete passes, and one four-yard catch on third and 5.
Conversely, the Lions converted four of five third-down attempts of three yards or fewer. Three of those attempts were successful runs, and the fourth was the aforementioned grab by Williams.
In other words, the Lions were running the ball fairly well, but they couldn’t make key plays in the passing game.
Overtime dominance
Ben Johnson is one of the best play callers in football, so when he saw what wasn’t working, he adjusted.
The Lions got the ball first in overtime and decided to stick with what was actually working. Goff only threw one pass: A dump-off to Gibbs in the flat.
The other seven plays went for a combined 60 yards on the ground, including 45 from Montgomery on five carries.
He started off with a 21-yard run, got nine on the next play, and then got a short break before winning the game with three consecutive runs of 6 yards, 8 yards, and 1 yard (into the end zone).
Every single person inside Ford Field -- heck, every football fan with their television on NBC -- knew Montgomery was getting the ball on those final plays, and he still carried a small army of Rams across the goal line.
High stakes
It’s not just that Montgomery was had a great game. More importantly, he did it when the Lions really needed it, because the passing attack wasn’t working. You know something is off when St. Brown finishes with 13 yards.
And also, I know we’re not supposed to say this because it’s Week 1, but that was a really big game.
The Lions have legitimate Super Bowl hype for the first time in decades -- maybe ever. To lose the first game of the season at home against Stafford would have been very deflating.
The Lions have a tough schedule this season, so it’s critical for them to get wins wherever they can.
I don’t think anybody was going to panic if the Lions lost. But the win give them some breathing room and keeps the ship on course. Every single week counts in the battle for playoff seeding.
David Montgomery
Yeah, I understand why Montgomery doesn’t get a lot of extra love. He’s not as fast and flashy as Gibbs. He’s not a hometown hero like Hutchinson. And he’s not a $200 million starting quarterback.
But Montgomery was the best and most important player on the field for the Lions on Sunday night. For once, all eyes were solely on him.
It’ll be hard not to talk about him now.