David Montgomery Produces in the Clutch

Former Bears running back David Montgomery didn't gain many yards per carry.

However, he managed to get the necessary yards.

Montgomery's longest run was an 8-yard touchdown run up the middle with 7:06 left to play for the go-ahead points, then his 2-yard run with 1:42 remaining resulted in the clinching first down Thursday in Detroit's 21-20 upset of Kansas City.

Montgomery, who signed for $18 million over three years as a free agent with the Lions after four seasons in Chicago, gained 74 yards on 21 carries for a 3.5-yard average in the first NFL game played this season.

The Detroit offensive line took over the game in the fourth quarter as the Lions came back from 14-7 and 20-14 deficits to start out with a win over the defending Super Bowl champions.

In doing so, Montomgery helped beat his former Bears coach, Matt Nagy, who is the Chiefs offensive coordinator. It was Nagy's first game since former offensive coordinator Eric Bieneiemy left the team to go to Washington.

The win cemented the Lions into the role of NFC North favorite, one they already seemed to own based on preseason analysis.

"I didn't learn anything," Lions coach Dan Campbell said to reporters afterward. "I got verification of what I already knew. And this is a resilient team. It already was a resilient team, and we added pieces to that resilient team.

"We're built to handle some stuff, and we did that today against a very good opponent."

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