Lions receive a boost with return of running back David Montgomery

David Montgomery (YouTube)

When Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery of Cincinnati, Ohio tore his medial collateral ligament against the Buffalo Bills in the week 15 shootout on December 15, there was  speculation by many that his season was done. I am not a doctor and am not even remotely a medical expert, but have realized over the years that a torn anterior cruciate ligament can take a significantly longer time to recover than a torn medial collateral ligament.

On Saturday when the Lions face the Washington Commanders in the first of two NFC Divisional Playoff games, they will get a key component of their offensive attack back as Montgomery has been cleared to play after one month from suffering the injury. Yes, the Lions have an outstanding running back in Jahmyr Gibbs of Dalton, Georgia, (as we saw from his four touchdown performance against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18 on January 5) but their offense is even more prolific with Montgomery in the mix.

Montgomery may not be a 1A running back as that nod goes to Gibbs. However he is the clear 1B back. In 14 games, he reached over 1000 total yards (1116 exact). Montgomery had 775 yards rushing and 341 yards receiving.

The Lions star power offense also includes quarterback Jared Goff of Novato, California, wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown of Anaheim Hills, California and Jameson Williams of St. Louis, Missouri, and tight end Sam LaPorta of Highland, Illinois. During the regular season, the Lions led the entire National Football League in total points scored with 564. That was 39 more points than the Buffalo Bills who were in second place with 525 points.