David Montgomery still out with rib injury; Detroit Lions must find run game vs. Raiders
The Detroit Lions are approaching their bye week, but coach Dan Campbell said that time off will have no bearing on whether injured starters David Montgomery and Jonah Jackson play Monday night against the Las Vegas Raiders.
"If we really felt like, man, we get to this point where we think they can go, they’re going," Campbell said Thursday in Allen Park. "And if they can’t, then they can’t and really the bye doesn’t have much to do with that."
Montgomery has not practiced since tearing rib cartilage in the first half of the Lions' Week 6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jackson has missed two games with an ankle injury.
The Lions (5-2) have struggled to run the ball the past two weeks, though their opportunities have been limited somewhat by game script.
After rushing for more than 100 yards in their first five games of the season, the Lions had 22 carries for 40 yards against the Bucs, and 84 yards on 14 carries in last week's loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who started last week in Montgomery's absence, had 68 yards rushing on 11 carries and a career-high nine catches for 58 yards against the Ravens. He is expected to handle the bulk of the backfield work again this week if Montgomery remains out.
"I saw an improving player (against the Ravens, Gibbs) took a step up," Campbell said. "And that’s all you can ask for is growth. So we anticipate he takes another step up and we’ll keep doing things that we feel like he does well and where he can continue to grow, but we’re pleased with where he’s at."
Campbell on Monday downplayed the Lions' rushing struggles, though he acknowledged offensive coordinator Ben Johnson left the Ravens game critical of himself for not running the ball more often early.
The Lions ran the ball three times on their first three series against the Ravens, for gains of 4, 4 and 3 yards, but went three-and-out on those drives and found themselves in a 28-0 hole. Lions quarterback Jared Goff has attempted 97 passes the past two weeks, with 63 completions and another eight dropbacks that resulted in sacks.
"I did think we got surge up front when we did (run against the Ravens), it’s just, I think we got put in a game we didn’t want to be in," Campbell said. "We had to throw it more than we wanted to and actually, I liked the plan we had in the run game this week. I liked it versus Tampa, but I’ll be the first to admit I think it was a little much. And I’m as responsible as anybody. We had a little much, a little too much. Whereas this week, man we calmed it down. I felt good – we just never really were able to get in a flow of it."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions RB David Montgomery still out with rib injury
