Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery exited the team’s Week 15 showdown against the Buffalo Bills with a knee injury. Despite returning to try and help Detroit claw out of a 10-point deficit, the talented RB might have made things worse for himself moving forward.
Let’s take a look at the latest info about Montgomery’s injury status.
What Happened to David Montgomery?
On a 4th-and-4 conversion by Amon-Ra St. Brown in the second quarter, Montgomery came limping off the field. He remained on the sideline rather than exiting for the locker room.
Montgomery returned to the game for the second half but had only one additional carry. As it turns out, he’ll need to miss more time and has a more severe injury than initially realized.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported that Montgomery is out indefinitely after suffering an MCL injury during the loss to the Bills. The Lions RB underwent additional testing on his knee with the hopes of a second opinion changing things.
Unfortunately, head coach Dan Campbell confirmed that Montgomery will need surgery to repair his knee and will miss the rest of the season.
#Lions coach Dan Campbell confirms David Montgomery will undergo surgery to repair his knee and is out for the season. https://t.co/q7QhpXgKgY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 16, 2024
Entering Week 15, the Lions were on a franchise-record 11-game winning streak and PFN’s model was in love with Detroit. The Lions were ranked the No. 1 offense and No. 2 defense, and they had the best odds of earning the NFC’s No. 1 seed (55.6%) and winning the Super Bowl (38.2%).
However, in Week 15, the Bills upset the Lions at Ford Field, 48-35. Jared Goff threw for 494 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions, Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 14 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown, while Jahmyr Gibbs added 114 total yards and two scores (one rushing and one receiving), but it wasn’t enough to pull out the win.
Detroit has already clinched a playoff spot, but this loss makes the battle for the NFC North and NFC’s No. 1 seed significantly more interesting. In fact, the outcome of this game might have an impact on both No. 1 seed races.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this game is that Detroit’s banged-up defense lost even more key pieces, as head coach Dan Campbell told reporters that Carlton Davis and Alim McNeill suffered injuries that are likely season-ending.
Following this loss, the Lions’ chance of winning the NFC North is now 60.5% (compared to 31.1% for the Vikings) and their odds of securing the No. 1 seed are 42.4% (compared to 33.0% for Philadelphia and 20.2% for Minnesota). Detroit still has an NFL-best 26.9% chance of winning the Super Bowl in our model.
Potential Fantasy Fallout From Montgomery’s Injury
Analysis courtesy PFN’s Kyle Soppe
Jahmyr Gibbs was already a must play and now he’s in the mix for most valuable roles in the league (if he wasn’t already). Wise fantasy managers will hold tight on Montgomery until we get further news, but this could be a tough pill to swallow for teams that rode his consistency to the postseason.
Could this open up more volume through the air and thus make Tim Patrick more viable in PPR formats as a Flex? That might be a bit optimistic, but he’s worth an add during this pass of waivers given that you have little to lose at this point in the season on the back-end of your roster.