ALLEN PARK -- Detroit’s rushing attack has been the one constant to the team’s 3-1 start on the offensive side of the ball. But the Lions want even more from their lethal one-two punch, and they have a great opportunity to come out firing with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs against a banged-up Dallas Cowboys defense after the bye week.
The Lions rank 11th in the league, getting 4.7 yards per attempt, but they rank fourth in rush attempts, sixth in yards and third in touchdowns through five weeks. Montgomery put the team on his back in the overtime win in the opener and helped pound the Arizona Cardinals into submission. Gibbs has more than picked up the slack, continuing to look like a more effective running back between the tackles than he flashed as a very productive rookie.
“We got to get better. They’re professionals,” Scottie Montgomery, the team’s assistant head coach and running backs coach, said. “That’s the two things. We’re going to continue to challenge them. I think they know that we really still haven’t hit the mark of what we are capable of hitting. I believe that, collectively, in our room and collectively on offense. It’s time. It’s time for us to continue stacking these performances all together.
“I think they’re ready to go. We’ll be challenged this week. There is no question about it. The hardest part of always getting better is the fact that consistency in details, lack of mental errors, and just being locked in and taking care of the football. All those things are very important. We’ll work hard. We’ll practice our ass off today.”
Montgomery has 271 yards and four touchdowns on the year, adding even more to the passing attack this time around, too. The veteran back already has nine catches for 94 yards after four games, well on track to outpace last year’s production in that department.
Gibbs is right there, with 285 yards and three scores to go along with 11 catches for 76 yards and one touchdown. For a duo that flirted with history last year, that’s right where they need to be if each is going to cross the 1,000-yard mark in 2024.
The Lions and their one-two punch behind that stout offensive line is a strength against anyone. But with the Cowboys licking their wounds in the trenches, it’s an opportunity to pound the ball and set the tone on offense back at Jerry World.
After five games, Dallas ranks 15th against the rush and 22nd against the pass. But now, they’ll likely be without several key pieces, at least for this Week 6 meeting. Demarcus Lawrence is on injured reserve. Micah Parsons is dealing with a high-ankle injury, and rookie defender Marshawn Kneeland avoided a season-ending knee injury but faces a tall task to get back this quickly.
“We’ve had a little bit of time to start working,” Montgomery said. “The hardest part about all of this is you don’t know who and what exactly they’re working on. You don’t know the strengths of some of the people that you haven’t seen on tape. And they can create some advantages because of that. We’re just right now trying to prepare ourselves for the whole litany of things that they could possibly do to us not knowing if someone is going to play or if they are going to play. A lot of those things come into it. But one of the things that I will say about their last two games -- they have had some injuries, but man, they have played really, really good football.
“We’ve really focused on what they’ve been doing. It’s the National Football League. It’s really a next-man-up league. Somebody is getting an opportunity, a really good football player that we just haven’t seen yet. And that’s what is showing up on tape. Got a lot of respect for the way that they coach, of course. Got a lot of respect for Zim. And just really looking forward to the game. But there is always the unknown that makes you a coach. That’s really what we get paid for -- the unknown.”
