Lions’ David Montgomery leaves Colts game with shoulder injury

The Detroit Lions have been an absolute machine as of late, and Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts has been no different. The Lions are cruising with a two-score lead in the second half, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any cause for concern in Detroit.

Running back David Montgomery has gone to the locker room after suffering a shoulder injury on a physical reception in the third quarter. He is currently questionable to return, according to the team.

Montgomery is one half of one of the best dynamic duos at running back in the NFL. He and Jahmyr Gibbs have already found the end zone three times combined on Sunday, with Montgomery scoring once in the first half and Gibbs scoring his second touchdown of the day in the third quarter.

If Montgomery is unable to return, the Lions will severely miss his physicality as a runner in between the tackles. That will be especially important in a game where they are trying to protect a lead in the second half.

Montgomery didn’t have his usual large workload on Sunday, but he touched the ball 11 times and gained 73 yards before exiting. He found a way to spin into the end zone on a six-yard touchdown run in the first half that stretched the Lions’ lead.

The Lions love to lean on their running game, especially down the stretch of games where they have a lead like they do on Sunday. Gibbs is the explosive, shiftier back who is a huge threat in the receiving game while Montgomery is more of the grinder who can get the hard yards between the tackles.

Gibbs can still get the job done, but it’s not ideal for the Lions’ running back workload to all fall on one guy. For that reason, Dan Campbell and company will be hoping that Montgomery can return sooner rather than later.
This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.