Since joining the Lions in 2023, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery have become the first running back duo in NFL history to each score 10-plus rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons. They’ve also gained more than 1,000 yards each in those seasons, and earned new nicknames – Sonic and Knuckles after Sega’s famous game characters.
They’re two different style backs. Gibbs has so much speed in bursts, he stretches your defence laterally. Then Montgomery is straight down the line and has very good balance in contact, he hits people and keeps driving his feet.
That combination is physically exhausting for a defence because you’ve got to keep adjusting to the speed and size of whichever back’s in front of you – and it’s fun to see the relationship they have with quarterback Jared Goff.
The Lions’ offensive line gives Goff so much time in the pocket. That allows him to make clean decisions and protect the ball. He’s been a phenomenal leader, and he has a smart and reliable receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The Lions have had a couple of close games but they’re finding different ways to win, and that resiliency makes you feel that Sunday’s game with the Buffalo Bills could be a Super Bowl preview.
The Bills have also had injuries but they’ve had a strong offensive line for a while, they just didn’t have the weapons, so one of the best things they did was trade for Amari Cooper. They needed that number one receiver with reliable hands.
James Cook has got 11 rushing touchdowns, receiver Khalil Shakir has stepped up and running back Ray Davis has been a great addition.
They’re alleviating the pressure on quarterback Josh Allen. He’s always felt he needs to put the team on his back, whereas now they’re kind of the same as the Lions in that they both have that ‘everybody eats’ mentality.
It doesn’t matter who is receiving the ball, they’re so excited for each other and they know success comes from a team perspective.
Allen is protecting the ball – five interceptions is much improved on recent years – and he doesn’t feel like he has to make those amazing plays. But he can still make them, as we’ve seen the past two weeks, such as with the ‘lake effect lateral’ from the snow game against San Francisco.
