Up until this point, David Montgomery has never beaten the Green Bay Packers in his NFL career.
After going from one NFC North team to another, he made the most with his new team, the Detroit Lions, to establish the team as the favorites for the division with a 34-20 win at Lambeau Field on Thursday night.
He ran the ball 32 times after he sat out of the Lions' win over the Atlanta Falcons in the previous Sunday with a thigh bruise. He went on to become the first Lion to rush for three touchdowns at Green Bay and the first Detroit player to go over 100 yards rushing with three touchdowns since James Stewart in 2000.
It was the fourth straight win for the Lions against the Packers, including the final week of last season, when the Lions shut the door on the Packers' playoff hopes in Aaron Rodgers' last game with the Packers.
They built on that game to go onto a 3-1 start, which featured consecutive road wins, the other one of those being when they downed the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Opening Night.
The Lions built a 27-3 halftime lead and outgained the Packers 284 yards to 21 as Packers fans rained boos down on their team. The half was the highest scoring ever for the Lions against the Packers through 188 games between the two.
Last week, the Packers staged a 17-point comeback, scoring 18 points in the final 11 minutes against the New Orleans Saints, and faced a halftime deficit of at least 17 points in back-to-back weeks for the first time in franchise history.
This time, the pressure was too much for Jordan Love and co. to overcome. Love finished 23 of 46 for 246 yards, with two passes intercepted by Jerry Jacobs, who has filled in nicely for Detroit in the absence of Emmanuel Moseley.
The Packers got within 10 points, and a one-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson capped off a season-long 86-yard drive to open the second half, and Jayden Reed ended the third quarter with a 44-yard catch to set up Love's 9-yard touchdown run eight seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Lions answered with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Montgomery's third touchdown of the game that took nearly nine minutes off the clock to put the game to rest.
By then, they prepared to settle for a 30-yard field goal that would have kept it a two-score game, but Quay Walker running and leaping forward to try and block the kick drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that kept the drive. alive.
It's surprising with how the Packers kept it close given how they played through the first half, and it may be a familiar trend considering the Packers' struggles in the first half this season.
Rudy Ford picked off Jared Goff on the third play from scrimmage, but the Packers got nothing more than a field goal from Anders Carlson. Detroit went on to score 24 points on their next four drives.
Goff's lone touchdown pass was to Amon-Ra St. Brown from 24 yards out, set up by a 35-yard catch-and-run from rookie tight end Sam LaPorta.
The Packers got a first down for the first time in the game after a Lions penalty, but didn't get a first down on their own until seven seconds left in the first half.
Goff is now 5-1 in his career against the Packers, and has led the Lions to six straight wins against NFC North opponents, tying their longest streak in the Super Bowl era (1995 and 1983).
It's an amazing turnaround, given they were 5-27-1 at Lambeau Field from 1971 to 2014. They have matched that win total since 2015, going 5-4.
A lot of credit can go to the changing of the guard around the players and how hungry the Lions are at improving every year. Even when the Packers trying to come back, the Lions sealed it with Montgomery's hat trick and Jacobs snagging his second pick.
Also, before the game, Montgomery has been 0-7 against Green Bay, with all seven of those games coming when he was with the Chicago Bears. He noted that this time "just felt different" with Dan Campbell and co., pushing through injury to fight for his teammates.
Only Walter Payton (6), Adrian Peterson (4), and Barry Sanders (4) are the only players with more 100-yard rushing games as a visitor in Lambeau than Montgomery (3), but he is the first to do this with two different teams.
He now has five rushing touchdowns on the year, tied for the most of any player in their first three games with a new team in NFL history.
Jacobs also is continuing to make a name for himself, breaking up four passes and becoming the first cornerback in franchise history to snag two interceptions at Green Bay since Dick LeBeau in 1968.
Both the offense and the defense held their own, especially after a dominant first half. Even if the Lions' offense was shut out in the first quarter, they took care of business.
They return home at Ford Field to host the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.
Throughout this game, one team showed what the other couldn't, with the latter being the Packers. They had an offensive line that had trouble pass blocking or getting consistent running lanes—on the infrequent times Matt LaFleur and Adam Stenavich called running plays.
The defensive front showed why they are at the bottom of the league against the run, and that has been showing even before Joe Barry came in as the team's defensive coordinator.
Under his watch, the Packers allowed Bijan Robinson to run over them for 124 yards in Week 2, and the all too familiar showing happened during the game with Montgomery.
113 of Montgomery's yards came after contact.
Even with Aaron Jones coming back from a hamstring injury, the Packers were heavy on the pass, especially on their first six plays.
Love was relentlessly bullied by the Lions' defense to the tune of five sacks, 11 hits, and pressured a season-high 13 times. That is despite the Lions blitzing only twice in the game, and one was on a desperation Hail Mary to end the half.
Love's 23% completion rate when under pressure is the lowest among 49 quarterbacks to throw at least 40 passes when pressured over the last three seasons.
In fairness, they were without two vital starters to the left side of their line, as both David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins sat out with knee injuries, and right tackle Zach Tom was playing through a knee injury of his own.
However, to slow down a pass rush, the Packers need to start committing to the run more and more, which opens up the play action game.
It was a brutal loss, and a number of stats can explain how bad of a start it was. Their 21 yards in the first half were the fewest by an NFL team in the first half of a game this season, 18 yards worse than the New York Jets' 39 yards in Week 1. It was also the Packers' lowest yardage output in any half since December 12th, 1982, when they totaled 19, ironically against the Lions.
There were more holes than just Jones not getting the ball until nearly two minutes into the second quarter. To that point, the Packers had just one yard of total offense in their first four possessions. Love was 1 for 7 with an interception.
If there is some solace, Christian Watson returning is a boost for the offense. His first catch of the season after missing the first three games due to a hamstring injury was a 24-yarder on a deep cross. His only other catch was a wide-open, 1-yard grab on the flat.
They have a mini-bye to regroup, but that might not be enough time to get together before their Monday Night match against the Las Vegas Raiders next week.
Scoring
Green Bay, 11:59 1st: Anders Carlson 34-yard field goal; 3-0 Green Bay
Detroit, 8:16 1st: Amon-Ra St. Brown 24-yard TD pass from Jared Goff (Riley Patterson kick); 7-3 Detroit
Detroit, 2:54 1st: David Montgomery 3-yard TD run (Riley Patterson kick); 14-3 Detroit
Detroit, 14:07 2nd: Riley Patterson 33-yard field goal; 17-3 Detroit
Detroit, 13:19 2nd: David Montgomery 2-yard TD run (Riley Patterson kick); 24-3 Detroit
Detroit, 0:34 2nd: Riley Patterson 37-yard field goal; 27-3 Detroit
Green Bay, 8:17 3rd: Christian Watson 1-yard TD pass from Jordan Love (Jayden Reed 2-PT pass from Jordan Love); 27-11 Detroit
Green Bay, 14:52 4th: Jordan Love 9-yard TD run (2-PT run failed); 27-17 Detroit
Detroit, 6:00 4th: David Montgomery 1-yard TD (Riley Patterson kick); 34-17 Detroit
Green Bay, 2:52 4th: Anders Carlson 50-yard field goal; 34-20 Detroit
Passing
DETROIT LIONS
Jared Goff: 19/28, 210 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 86.9 passer rating
GREEN BAY PACKERS
Jordan Love: 23/36, 246 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 5 sacks, 69.9 passer rating
Rushing
DETROIT LIONS
David Montgomery: 32 attempts, 121 yards, 3 TD
Kalif Raymond: 1 attempt, 40 yards, 0 TD
Jahmyr Gibbs: 8 attempts, 40 yards, 0 TD
GREEN BAY PACKERS
Aaron Jones: 5 attempts, 18 yards, 0 TD
A.J. Dillon: 5 attempts, 11 yards, 0 TD
Jordan Love: 2 attempts, -2 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
DETROIT LIONS
Josh Reynolds: 3 receptions, 69 yards, 0 TD
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 5 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD
Sam LaPorta: 4 receptions, 56 yards, 0 TD
GREEN BAY PACKERS
Romeo Doubs: 9 receptions, 95 yards, 0 TD
Jayden Reed: 3 receptions, 55 yards, 0 TD
Samori Toure: 1 reception, 35 yards, 0 TD
Josiah Deguara: 4 receptions, 34 yards, 0 TD
Christian Watson: 2 receptions, 25 yards, 1 TD
Defensive
DETROIT LIONS
Brian Branch: 7 tackles (5 solo), 1 pass defensed
Derrick Barnes: 6 tackles (2 solo)
Jerry Jacobs: 5 tackles (5 solo), 4 passes defensed, 2 interceptions
John Cominsky: 5 tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL, 3 QB hits, 1 sack
Alex Anzalone: 5 tackles (3 solo), 1 pass defensed
Alim McNeill: 2 tackles (2 solo), 2 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 sack
Aidan Hutchinson: 2 tackles (1 solo), 1 TFL, 3 QB hits, 1.5 sacks
GREEN BAY PACKERS
Quay Walker: 19 tackles (10 solo), 1 TFL
Isaiah McDuffie: 9 tackles (5 solo), 1 QB hit
Rudy Ford: 8 tackles (7 solo), 1 pass defensed, 1 interception
Preston Smith: 5 tackles (4 solo), 1 QB hit
Devonte Wyatt: 4 tackles (3 solo), 2 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 sack
Karl Brooks: 2 tackles (2 solo), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed
Team Stats
First Downs: Lions 25, Packers 15
Passing First Downs: Lions 11, Packers 9
Rushing First Downs: Lions 13, Packers 2
First Downs from Penalties: Lions 1, Packers 4
3rd Downs: Lions 7/17, Packers 3/11
4th Downs: Lions 2/2, Packers 1/1
Total Yards: Lions 401, Packers 230
Yards Per Play: Lions 5.5, Packers 4.3
Passing Yards: Lions 190, Packers 203
Team Passing: Lions 19/28, Packers 23/36
Yards Per Pass: Lions 6.3, Packers 5.0
Sacks—Yards Lost: Lions 2—20 yards, Packers 5—43 yards
Rushing Yards: Lions 211, Packers 27
Rushing Attempts: Lions 43, Packers 12
Yards Per Rush: Lions 4.9, Packers 2.3
Red Zone: Lions 3/6, Packers 2/4
Penalties: Lions 8—70 yards, Packers 4—31 yards
Turnovers: Lions 1, Packers 2
Fumbles Lost: Lions 0, Packers 0
Interceptions Thrown: Lions 1, Packers 2
Possession: Lions 37:58, Packers 22:02
Miscellaneous
Venue: Lambeau Field
Location: Green Bay, WI
Attendance: 78,052 (Capacity: 81,041)
Weather: Cloudy, 63°F
Winds: SE 8 mph
Broadcast: Amazon Prime Video
Commentators: Al Michaels (PxP), Kirk Herbstreit (color), Kaylee Hartung (reporter), Terry McAulay (rules analyst)
Officiating crew: Alan Eck (referee), Tab Slaughter (umpire), Fred Bryan (down judge), Robin DeLorenzo (line judge), John Jenkins (field judge), Dale Shaw (side judge), Greg Meyer (back judge)
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