The whole thing with the Lions and David Montgomery is a bit overblown

The Lions are actually using Montgomery about the same as last year

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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The Detroit Lions are 8-6 and on this weird brink where maybe a few things go one way, and they win the NFC North championship for a third year in a row, or maybe things go another way, and they miss the playoffs. After a loss to the Rams in which the Lions’ offense wasn’t really the issue, it was a bit surprising to hear Dan Campbell yet again get asked about David Montgomery.

The whole David Montgomery conversation is way overblown

This has become a weekly thing this season. Everyone wants to know why the Lions aren’t utilizing David Montgomery as much as they used to. What are we really talking about here? I mean, look at the difference between last year’s usage and stats and this year’s usage and stats:

David Montgomery 2024 usage vs 2025

  • 2024: 14 games, 185 carries, 775 yards, and 12 touchdowns
  • 2025: 14 games, 136 carries, 635 yards, and 8 touchdowns

So, we’re getting all riled up because he has 49 fewer carries than he did last year? Is that really saying that the Lions are using him a ton less, and now it’s time to start reading too much into his Instagram posts and create some sort of controversy where there really isn’t any controversy?

This just seems so easy to figure out. When Jahmyr Gibbs is on the field, the Lions offense is just way more dynamic than it is when Montgomery is on the field. The Lions can get more chunk plays out of Gibbs running the ball; they can pass to him and get huge plays. The defense has to completely change the way they defend this team when he’s on the field.

Montgomery is definitely someone who can be utilized a lot and, in certain situations, is a better guy to have on the field. Personally, I think he should have gotten some more carries against the Rams on Sunday, and might have if the third quarter hadn’t blown up in the Lions’ face and forced them to be one-dimensional. Either way, this is still just a bit overblown, and I don’t know why we talk about it every week.

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