Final update: Montgomery dominated the work on the ground. He had 121 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries. He added 20 more yards on two carries. Gibbs had eight carries for 40 yards and 11 additional yards on four receptions. This one was all Monty.
Third quarter update: Montgomery still has a firm grasp on the backfield lead. He has 19 carries for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Gibbs has four carries for 26 yards and all four receptions for 11 yards. Monty has notably gotten the redzone carries, while Gibbs feels like the go-to when it is third and very long for Detroit.
Second quarter update: Montgomery has been the preferred back for Detroit, and it wasn’t close in the first half. The veteran has 15 carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Gibbs has three carries for 17 yards and added two receptions for 12 additional yards. The Lions do go into halftime 27-3 so if it stays a blowout, maybe he gets some garbage time late.
First quarter update: Montgomery found the endzone in the first quarter. The snap count seemed relatively close, but Montgomery has eight carries for 20 yards and a score, while Gibbs has two carries for 14 yards. The rookie still has his lone reception for three yards, but Detroit begins the second quarter in the redzone.
The Detroit Lions are facing the Green Bay Packers for Week 4’s Thursday Night Football game. This is the second game that the Lions have played in this slot this season. In the first, veteran running back David Montgomery outshined the rookie Jahmyr Gibbs leading to head coach Dan Campbell saying that they would work to get Gibbs more work. We will be tracking the game to see three weeks later how the backfield is split, especially with the return of Montgomery to the backfield after being hurt last week.
Through two drives, the Lions have had a total of 10 snaps. Montgomery has six snaps to Gibbs’ five, but the veteran has seen more production. Monty has four carries for six yards, while Gibbs has one carry for seven yards and a reception for three additional yards. They haven’t been able to get much going early, but the lean on the run game through the first quarter helped to set up a 24-yard touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
More to come.