The Detroit Lions will be back in action in the Divisional Round after receiving a bye during Wild Card Weekend as the NFC North winners and holders of the No. 1 seed. Detroit earned that crown in the regular-season finale after defeating the Minnesota Vikings to improve to 15-2 on the year.
Three weeks earlier, in Week 15, running back David Montgomery suffered an injury to his knee in the loss to the Buffalo Bills. Will Detroit have Montgomery back for its first game in the 2024 NFL playoffs?
Let’s examine the Lions’ RB injury and his availability for Sunday’s Divisional Round matchup.
What Happened to David Montgomery?
While Detroit’s heartbreaking loss to the Bills ended an 11-game winning streak, it was also harsh on the team from an injury perspective. Most of all, losing Montgomery was too steep a price to pay for a team so heavily reliant on its offense.
On a 4th-and-4 conversion by wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in the second quarter, Montgomery came limping off the field. Yet, 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 turned out, he missed more time and had a more severe injury than initially realized.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported that Montgomery would be out indefinitely after suffering an MCL injury during the game. The Lions’ RB, however, underwent additional testing on his knee with the hopes of a second opinion changing things.
Unfortunately, head coach Dan Campbell confirmed that Montgomery would need surgery to repair his knee and would miss the rest of the season. Yet, four days later, fans got some euphoria-inducing news.
Thanks to a third opinion, Montgomery was looking to rehab the injury without surgery. As a result, a potential return as soon as the playoffs was on the horizon. Even though a return wasn’t guaranteed, it gave the fan base and the team itself a sliver of hope to hold on to.
Will Montgomery Play vs. Commanders?
Montgomery practiced in full on the Tuesday ahead of the Divisional Round weekend after playing his last game on Dec. 15. Barring any setbacks, Detroit’s running back is set to get back on the field against the Washington Commanders.
“It’s refreshing. Kind of to be back in the position to where I can help the team, yeah, I missed it, so happy to be back. I wouldn’t be out there if I wasn’t ready,” Montgomery began.
The Lions’ star addressed the surgery situation, saying, “I think the speculation that I was getting surgery or that was kind of the end-all, be-all. Nobody really ever knew. So when it got put out, I didn’t know that I was getting surgery. So, the media told me, so it was news to me, but I’m always pretty confident in who I am and how I prepare.”
Campbell is glad to have Montgomery back in his arsenal.
“It’ll mean a lot. Five’s a big part of us. He’s a huge part of us, and to me, he’s a bell cow. He’s somebody that is a tone-setter. He’s a catalyst, so there’s a place for him. There’s a place for him here, so there’ll be a place for him in this game. So it’s going to be good to get him back,” he said.
Montgomery needs to play a crucial role if the Lions want to make a deep run into the playoffs. With their form, the franchise is eyeing winning it all in New Orleans.
Commanders vs. Lions Game Preview
Washington Commanders
Team: Since the start of 2022, the Lions have a 73.8% win percentage against teams without a true weapon of a runner under center and a 54.5% mark when facing such an asset – Jayden Daniels certainly falls into that second bucket of QB.
QB: On Sunday night, Daniels completed 58.3% of his pressured passes with two scores and zero interceptions (regular season: 46.4% complete with 1.6 touchdowns-per-interception).
Offense: The Commanders scored on 62.5% of their drives in the Wild Card Round and are near unstoppable when having success even close to that level (13-2 when scoring on over one-third of their offensive possessions).
Defense: Washington posted a 66.7 Def+ grade on Sunday night, their fourth worst effort of the season. That said, two of those four instances have come against the Buccaneers, making that potentially a tough matchup more than something to fear moving into the Divisional Round.
Fantasy: If you extrapolate Terry McLaurin’s last seven games for a 17-game season:
- 100 receptions (143 targets)
- 1,127 yards
- 19 touchdowns
- 329.1 PPR fantasy points
Justin Jefferson was WR2 in total PPR points this season with 317.5.
Betting: Since Week 11, Washington is 1-3 ATS against the NFC East and 3-1 ATS against the rest of the NFL
Detroit Lions
Team: The Lions scored 41 points against the Chargers last season coming off their bye. They hung 47 on the Cowboys this season and are now coming off another bye week.
QB: Jared Goff finished the season with a 93.2 grade in our QB+ metric, the 11th best mark in our six years of tracking (second best this season, trailing Lamar Jackson).
Offense:The Lions ranked third in fourth down conversions during the regular season (22) and tied for seven in fourth down conversion rate (66.7%).
Defense: Detroit’s offense gets the attention, but their defense, for the season, ranked seventh in turnover rate and red zone efficiency.
Fantasy: The best games over PPR fantasy expectation during the second half of the season, minimum 20 touches:
- Week 12 Saquon Barkley (at LAR): +127.1%
- Week 16 Jonathan Taylor (vs. TEN): +124.1%
- Week 18 Gibbs (vs. MIN): +114.4%
- Week 17 Gibbs (at SF): +77.9%
- Week 9 Derrick Henry (vs. DEN): +77%
Betting: The Lions have covered 70% of their games since Dan Campbell took over (49-21-1), easily the best mark in the league (the Bengals at 61.6% are the only other team at 58%).
