David Montgomery Shares How the Jumbotron Helped Him on 72-Yard Run vs. Ravens

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In addition to his two touchdowns in Monday night's win vs. the Ravens, Lions running back David Montgomery also had an electric 72-yard run late in the third quarter that put Detroit in the red zone and set them up for a sweet trick-play TD from Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs.
In footage of the moment, you can see Montgomery sort of looking up while he sprints down the field. During an episode of the St. Brown Podcast released Wednesday, he explained that he was actually looking at the Jumbotron so he could determine how close the Ravens defenders were to him. And it was a good thing he did, because had he kept running straight, someone might've got to him earlier.
"I was looking at the screen because I knew they were close to me," Montgomery explained.
"That was smart, though, you got an extra, like, 10 yards out of that by doing that," added Equanimeous St. Brown.
Watch both those remarks and the play below:
David Montgomery reveals that he was looking at the Jumbotron during his 72-yard run against the Ravens in order to see how close the Ravens defenders were behind him 🧠 pic.twitter.com/4ARDxJORE4
— St. Brown Podcast (@StBrownPodcast) September 24, 2025
David Montgomery gets loose for 72!#DETvsBAL 📺 ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/tA1bOUMUXm
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 23, 2025
Some quick thinking from Monty.
In the wake of the contest, head coach Dan Campbell described the 28-year running back as "special."
"He's exactly who we know he is. We know what David is. That's his type of game," Campbell said Tuesday. "That's right up his alley. We know the kind of back he is. We feel like he can do everything for us. The one-two punch with he and Gibbs, we think, is what makes both of those guys pretty special."
Next up, the Lions will host the Browns on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. We'll see what Montgomery—and probably Gibbs and St. Brown as well—have in store for us then.
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Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.