Maybe David Montgomery's injury was a blessing in disguise for the Lions. There would be no more disguising Jahmyr Gibbs. The rookie running back is now front and center among the most dynamic young players in the NFL.
Or maybe Gibbs' breakout was inevitable all along.
"It’s like any other rookie around the league," Jared Goff said this week. "It happens every single year where these guys are learning and they’re young and they’re figuring things out, and people don’t have any patience anymore unfortunately. But it’s starting to click for him these last few weeks. You can tell he’s seeing things very clearly and he has a great feel for our O-line right now and a great feel for these holes.
"Obviously his speed is pretty special, but he’s getting a really, really good feel for what we’re trying to do and is helping us a lot."
When the Lions drafted Gibbs 12th overall, this is what they envisioned. When Brad Holmes later called him "a multiphase, elite, explosive position-less weapon," this is what he meant. Since returning from a hamstring injury last month at the same time that Montgomery went down with a rib injury, Gibbs has 427 yards of offense and four touchdowns in three games. He's now 11th in the NFL in scrimmage yards per game (96.6), between Austin Ekeler and Saquon Barkley, and third in yards per carry (5.3).
“There was never a question -- at least from me or anybody else in this building -- of the development of Jah," Montgomery said Wednesday. "The first day he came in, we already knew what he was going to be, how special he was. I guess it was more of a surprise for everybody else in the world, but it wasn’t a surprise to us.
"Him being as special as he is and me being who I am, how I play the game, I feel like we complement, we work very well together.”
They proved it last week. With Montgomery back on the field, the duo combined for 228 yards of offense and three touchdowns in Detroit's 41-38 win over the Chargers. Montgomery, more of the traditional tailback, now leads the NFL with 83.3 rushing yards per game. The Lions' "two-headed monster," as Dan Campbell calls it, is coming to life.
"I think we're just scratching the surface," Gibbs said Wednesday. "That was the first game that we actually split (the carries), and it worked out pretty good."
Gibbs rushed 14 times for 77 yards, adding 35 yards on three catches. Montgomery rushed 12 times for 116 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown. Asked how he expects the workload to be divided moving forward, Gibbs smiled and said, "Hopefully it’s the same thing. But whichever route we go, I’m pretty sure it’ll work out."
Gibbs and Montgomery have been tight since they arrived in Detroit. Gibbs, 21, calls the 26-year-old Montgomery his big brother: "As soon as I came in, he’s guided me every step of the way. Anything I needed help with, he was there." Montgomery, in turn, credits Gibbs for making him go even harder: "Having somebody like that, as explosive and as special as he is, you've automatically got to take it up a notch."
Typically the Lions' goal-line back, Montgomery ceded the field to Gibbs on one of his two touchdowns last week. Gibbs said he "was supposed to come out (of the game)" after taking a 35-yard carry to the one-yard line "and then David came and got me and he was like, 'Jah, you want it?' I was thinking, I was like, 'Yeah, yeah, lemme get it.' David's like, 'Bet.' He just ran out and let me get it, so props to big bro, D-Mo."
Later sitting side by side on the Lions' sideline, Montgomery told Gibbs, "I can't let you have it all." Gibbs replied, "I want you to get one!" Montgomery replied with his 75-yard touchdown, making him Detroit's first running back since Barry Sanders with two 40-plus yard touchdowns in a season. (He also had a 42-yard score against the Panthers in Week 5.
If both stay healthy, there's no telling what Montgomery and Gibbs -- or is it Gibbs and Montgomery? -- can do behind the Lions' offensive line. This is exactly why Detroit opted to upgrade its backfield after finishing 11th in the NFL in rushing yards per game and 15th in yards per carry last season with a tandem of Jamaal Williams and D'Andre Swift. 10 weeks into this season, they rank fourth in yards per game and seventh in yards per carry.
“The offensive line is the best in the league," said Gibbs, nodding to the big boys across the locker room. "Numbers prove it. Big shoutout to them. We couldn’t do what we do, Jared couldn’t do what he does without them boys up front."
Montgomery called it a blessing "to have such a profound group in front of me." He's also got a special talent next to him, and defenders in their dust.
"I believe that you need two good backs to go the full distance," Montgomery said, "and we have that."