Lions are kings (so far)
They run all over Packers in rout
GREEN BAY, Wis. — David Montgomery rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns, and the Lions asserted themselves as the team to beat in the NFC North, dominating the first half and beating the Packers, 34-20, Thursday night.
Montgomery carried 32 times after he sat out the Lions’ victory over Atlanta last Sunday with a thigh bruise. He became the first Lion to rush for three touchdowns at Green Bay and the first Detroit player to top 100 yards rushing with three TDs since James Stewart in 2000.
The Lions (3-1) beat the Packers (2-2) for a fourth straight time, a streak that also includes the final game of last season, when Detroit denied Green Bay a playoff spot in Aaron Rodgers’s last game with the Packers.
Jordan Love, threw for a touchdown and ran for another as he tried to rally the Packers in the second half. He finished 23 of 36 for 246 yards and was picked off twice by Jerry Jacobs.
Detroit led, 27-3, at halftime and had outgained Green Bay, 284 yards to 21, as the half ended with boos from the crowd. It was the Lions' highest-scoring first half against the Packers in the series’ 188-game history.
The Packers had staged an improbable rally five days earlier, trailing New Orleans, 17-0, before scoring 18 points in the final 11 minutes.
Green Bay faced a halftime deficit of at least 17 points in back-to-back weeks for the first time in franchise history.
Love got the Packers within 10 points. His 1-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson capped a season-long 86-yard drive to open the second half.
Jayden Reed ended the third quarter with a 44-yard catch that set up Love’s 9-yard touchdown run with 14:52 left in the game to make it 27-17.
Detroit responded with a 14play, 75-yard drive, capped by Montgomery’s 1-yard touchdown run on third and goal that took nearly nine minutes off the clock and put the game away.
The Lions were prepared to settle for a 30-yard field goal that would have kept it as a two-score game, but they got a first down when Green Bay’s Quay Walker received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for running forward and leaping across the line in an attempt to block the kick.
Considering the way the game started, it was surprising it was still competitive in the fourth quarter.
Rudy Ford intercepted Jared Goff on the third play from scrimmage to set up a field goal. Detroit then scored 24 points on its next four drives to delight the sizable contingent of Lions fans who decorated the Lambeau Field stands in Honolulu blue.
The second quarter was nearly halfway over and the Lions already led, 24-3, when the Packers finally got their initial first down thanks to a Detroit penalty. The Packers didn’t get a first down on their own merits until seven seconds remained before halftime.