Detroit Lions' gritty win over Green Bay Packers showed why you can believe in them

GREEN BAY, Wis. — David Montgomery made the decision on Wednesday night.

Even though he was dealing with a thigh bruise.

Even though everything was up in the air.

Montgomery decided to play against the Green Bay Packers.

“Yeah, it hurt a little bit, but it's all good,” Montgomery said, after willing himself through 32 carries, 121 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Detroit Lions to a 34-20 victory at Lambeau Field.

Just as left tackle Taylor Decker willed himself through that game, despite a high ankle sprain and bone bruise.

Just as defensive back Brian Branch willed himself out of the locker room — after getting X-rays mid game — to get his ankle taped up and reenter the game (before he tweaked it again).

That is the DNA of this team, and it’s the reason why I believe so strongly in this team.

“It just showed our level of grit,” Montgomery said. “Detroit is a gritty place. I come from that. I was born into that. I'm used to that. I know what it looks like, what it feels like. So, for me it's more of like a personal thing. You know, I feel like I leave my guy short if I'm not out there.”

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Just about everything is going right with this team — and when have we ever said that? The defense is suddenly dominating, and the pass rush has found sacks in bunches, and the offense is clicking, and they are playing great, complementary football.

"There is a ton of guys who played really well," Lions coach Dan Campbell said after his team went on the road, played under the lights on national TV (or whatever Amazon Prime Video is) and beat the Packers for the fourth straight time to take over first place in the NFC North.

Now, the natural question is: How will this team respond to being in first place?

Not only do I believe this team will handle it, it’s going to thrive.

Because of that DNA.

Because of the mentality you could see Thursday night.

“We will definitely keep the horse blinders on,” Montgomery said. “We're not big on listening to everything. … The sky's the limit for us.”

It’s how this team was built, to never be satisfied and play through injury and play for each other.

Maybe that sounds corny. Maybe that sounds old-fashioned.

But it's still how this team was built.

“Deck is an animal, a war daddy, as we call him,” Montgomery said of his teammate on the offensive line. “For him to suit up, for him to be hurting and for him to go out, perform the way he performed, it shows the kind of team that we are.”

But Campbell was just as impressed with Montgomery: "You could just see the look in his eyes. He just looked ready to go."

A pure team win

It’s almost impossible to pick out the most amazing thing about this game, but here's a short list:

∎ The Lions won their sixth straight divisional game, the franchise's longest streak since 1995.

∎ They have scored 20 or more points in 13 straight games, tying another franchise record.

∎ They held Green Bay to 27 yards rushing, their fewest allowed against Green Bay since Oct. 25, 1987. (That's a pre-Barry Sanders mark, no less.)

∎ Thursday marked the first time Detroit has allowed less than 45 yards rushing in consecutive games since 2014.

And for Montgomery, on a personal level, it’s the first time in his career that he’s beaten the Packers. In nine tries.

“It just felt different,” he said.

Yes, I think it’s safe to say it feels way different for Lions fans, too.

“It just felt real different coming in with the group of guys that I'm with," Montgomery said. "I could tell my son that I beat the Packers.”

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Lots to love about this team

There are just so many things to like about this team and how it’s playing.

They are making plays.

No venue is too intimidating — they have won at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium and Green Bay's Lambeau Field.

The bright lights don’t seem to bother them. In fact, they seem to charge them up.

“I just think it's something that that we talk about, we prepare for,” Campbell said. “We always try to emphasize that, that, man, you should really live in the moment; you should embrace it, you should enjoy it. That shouldn't be a stressful situation.”

As he talks, you can see what he tells his team, how he has prepared them for this. And it’s masterful, really.

“Send us anywhere,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “Send us anywhere; we'll be ready. And that's the way we're built.”

Send us anywhere?

Any player can say that.

But this team believes it.

The Lions are bursting with confidence and tied together with trust.

At some point, this team will face some serious adversity. Maybe it will be injuries. Maybe it will be refs — yeah, we’ve seen that before. Or maybe it will be turnovers. And maybe, at some point, they will drop a few games. That’s the NFL. It happens.

But I firmly believe this team can handle any of that.

It is built to handle success and adversity — we saw the adversity early last season and then the success in how it ended the year. And now, we have seen it for the past month.

It's how this team was built. It's what these Lions have inside them.

You could see it in Montgomery and Decker and Branch on Thursday night.

It flows from Campbell on down.

And that’s why it’s safe to believe in this team. They will be able to handle this.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' grit a real thing. And so is their early season success