David

Montgomery

Montgomery led the Lions in scrimmage yards but didn’t find the end zone in this one. He saw a few looks close to the Bears’ goal line, but after a failed attempt to punch it in, the Lions took to the air and threw a touchdown to Sam LaPorta. It wasn’t the production Montgomery’s fantasy managers were hoping for, but the role was everything we’ve come to expect on a weekly basis. Montgomery is still solid RB1/RB2 in next week’s game against the Packers.

Montgomery was a full participant in the Lions’ final practice of the week, leading us to believe he would suit up for Thursday’s game despite his questionable tag. Now officially active, Montgomery will be available to once again split touches with Jahmyr Gibbs in this Thanksgiving Day tilt. Montgomery is a fringe RB1/RB2 against his former team.

Montgomery progressed through all three injury designations this week, going from DNP to LP to FP. His questionable status appears to be more of a formality than anything else. Fantasy managers should fire up Montgomery as a borderline RB1/2 as he faces his former team on Thanksgiving.

Combine the upgrade from a Monday DNP with Dan Campbell saying he was feeling good about Montgomery’s chances and we have a much more optimistic outlook on Montgomery playing in Week 13 than we did 24 hours ago. Montgomery will be on the RB1 line against the Bears in what projects as a decisive Lions win.

It was an estimated practice, as all Mondays are, but Montgomery finished Sunday’s game on the sideline (with his helmet) as the Lions finished blowing out the Colts. It seems likely that the Lions would give Montgomery a break today after that even if he was fine, but until we get coach quotes on Montgomery being likely to play, we’d regard him as genuinely questionable for Thanksgiving against the Bears.

Fantasy managers will take the touchdown, but the story was D-Mont departing around the 4:30 mark of the third quarter with a shoulder injury and not handling another touch the rest of the afternoon. Announced as questionable after heading to the locker room, D-Mont did return to the sideline wearing his helmet. But with the Lions up multiple scores, they opted to ride Jahmyr Gibbs in close-out mode. The fact that Montgomery resurfaced at all suggests a minor injury, but this is the Lions’ annual short-week Thanksgiving game. D-Mont should probably be considered genuinely questionable for the 12:30 PM ET kickoff. His status will be updated no later than Monday afternoon.

Montgomery punched in touchdowns from six and two yards out but also ceded a goal line score to Jahmyr Gibbs. With the Lions throttling the Jags to the tune of 52 points, there were more than enough touchdowns to go around. Montgomery ultimately out-touched Gibbs 18-12, though both backs got home from a fantasy perspective. Week 12 is a similar setup for the Lions as they are set to square off with an atrocious Indianapolis run defense. Montgomery will push for an RB1 ranking alongside Gibbs next week.

Montgomery had more carries than backfield mate Jahmyr Gibbs through three quarters, doing well to wear the relentless Houston defense down before giving way to the lightning to his thunder in the fourth quarter. Gibbs took over the game when it mattered most, but it was Montgomery that did a lot of the heavy lifting early. His touchdown saved an otherwise pedestrian fantasy performance, pushing his season total to seven on the ground this year. Montgomery could return better counting stats in Week 11 when the Lions host the underperforming Jaguars.

Montgomery out-touched Jahmyr Gibbs 20-12 but could not find the end zone in this one. The veteran running back pounded his way to 73 yards on the ground, with his longest run coming on a 12-yard gain in the fourth quarter, and put the game on ice with a 14-yard reception. He remains a must-start for fantasy managers rostering him and will be a boom-or-bust RB2 against the Texans in Week 10

Montgomery got the Lions on the board early, but it was Jahmyr Gibbs who ripped off the big chunk plays on the way to Detroit going up three touchdowns early. The Lions were consistently given short fields to work with by their defense and special teams, so the overall yardage totals on the offense are not impressive, but the offense itself was certainly humming. After Montgomery was tackled on the one-yard line, the Lions went back to him on a toss, but it was a trick play that allowed the former quarterback to find Sam LaPorta for a touchdown pass. Montgomery should be in lineups next week against the Packers.