Studs and Duds: David Montgomery Shines in Homecoming

On Sunday, the Detroit Lions continued their tour through the AFC North. Following victories against Baltimore and Cleveland, the Lions headed to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. With the Bengals missing Joe Burrow following a week two turf toe injury, there was a lot of Honolulu Blue in the house.

The Lions were favored, and for good reason. Jake Browning did not lead much for the Bengals until it was too late, and the Lions easily emerged victorious, 37-24.

Who was on the rise and fall this week?

STUD: TE Sam LaPorta

LaPorta got involved early, with a 22-yard catch on the third play of the game. He later completed the drive, scoring his first touchdown of the season to open the Lions’ scoring. LaPorta added a pair of catches later in the half, and was sitting at 53 yards by halftime.

His first catch of the second half flipped the field, with the tight end rumbling for 39 yards. He finished the day with a season-high 97 receiving yards.

STUD: DB Amik Robertson

With DJ Reed heading to injured reserve, the first player being called upon on the outside was Robertson. While the latter did not have Joe Burrow as the opposing quarterback, the dual assignments of Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase still loomed large.

Robertson responded by picking off Jake Browning on the Cincinnati 17, setting up the Lions’ second touchdown of the game. Robertson had excellent coverage against Chase, and a slightly wide target was all the defensive back needed to capitalize.

DUD: C Graham Glasgow

While the Lions scored at will, keeping their average of 34.3 points per game up, Glasgow did not have his best game. The heir to Frank Ragnow had a bad miss on a goal-line run in the first half, resulting in Jahmyr Gibbs being tackled for loss. A John Morton trick play with a David Montgomery wildcat pass erased this from being too harmful.

Later in the game, Glasgow had his second strike, a holding call. The Lions were held to under four yards per carry in the first half, with the Sonic and Knuckles duo being held in check.

STUD: LB Alex Anzalone

Anzalone was all over the field for Detroit. All of the linebackers shined, but the Florida product was the best of the bunch. He got redemption for his dropped interception in week one, picking off Browning in the third quarter.

This interception helped dissuade any notion of Cincinnati sticking around to make it a game late, as Detroit made it 21-3 with the next offensive drive. Before the fourth quarter even started, Anzalone had filled the box score with three pass deflections and a tackle for loss.

He was whistled for defensive pass interference late in the third quarter, but he gets a pass. The linebacker finished with three tackles on the day, alongside being a menace against the pass.

DUD: CB Terrion Arnold

Arnold was whistled for a hold early in the game, negating a huge momentum swing after Aidan Hutchinson took Jake Browning down in the end zone for a safety.

Arnold bounced back nicely, with a pair of pass deflections on the next two plays. The second one was nearly Arnold’s first pick, but Ja’Marr Chase played great defense on his quarterback’s pass. Arnold then nearly came down with his first interception, again, but Kerby Joseph had undercut the route even more for his third pick of the year.

That was originally enough to keep him out of the column, but Arnold then got his second penalty for the second straight game, a defensive pass interference against Chase.

Worse yet, for the third time in five contests, Arnold was injured, and was later downgraded to out in the fourth quarter.

STUD: RB David Montgomery

For Montgomery, this was a homecoming game. He grew up in Cincinnati, and this was his first football game back home and in front of family since his senior year of high school. Fittingly, he had a big game in his return.

Montgomery got things started with some John Morton trickery, lining up in wildcat and passing the ball to Brock Wright for a touchdown. The high school quarterback tallied his second touchdown through the air in his career.

In the third quarter, the Lions pushed down the field after a 39-yard LaPorta catch-and-run. Montgomery was the back of choice, and broke into open field once, being tackled down. He was able to finish the drive off to give him a multi-touchdown performance against the team he rooted for growing up.

STUD: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown

For only the second time this year, Amon-Ra St. Brown was held out of the end zone during a contest. However, that is not to say that the Bengals held him in check. The USC product was helping sustain drives, and recorded 100 receiving yards.

St. Brown had eight catches, alongside a pooch kick catch on the free kick after a Derrick Barnes safety. While it was sad to see his touchdown streak end, a 100-yard performance after his touchdown streak is still indicative that John Morton, Goff, and St. Brown have found a new level for the connection.

DUD: OL Giovanni Manu

Manu was called upon for his first career start on Sunday, with Taylor Decker being downgraded to out. With Trey Hendrickson lining up against him, it was trial by fire for the young tackle.

Prior to his game against the Bengals, Manu’s only career snaps outside of preseason were mop-up duties, and it showed. Manu was beat by Hendrickson for a Goff sack where the quarterback fumbled, and the Bengals recovered. Manu rallied well after, however.

That said, Manu was then burned badly again with Detroit trying to put together a final put away drive, with Joseph Ossai blindsiding Goff on third down. On the day, Goff got sacked four times, and Manu was solely responsible for half that total.

STUD: QB Jared Goff

Goff feasted upon a bad Bengals defense today. Without his stalwart left tackle Taylor Decker, the quarterback had a faster internal clock today, and put in a highly-efficient performance.

Goff was taken down four times, but put in a performance to be recognized. He went 19-for-23 passing, with 258 yards and a trio of touchdowns. The former top overall NFL Draft selection nearly had a perfect passer rating, too. A quarterback does not stumble into a 153.0 passer rating. Goff was efficient, productive, and methodical.

At the end of the day, the quarterback got to lose yards, too, kneeling the ball out. That is the ultimate mark for a successful day.