Why the Lions Need to Worry about Bears RB David Montgomery

Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery currently ranks fifth in the NFL with 203 yards on the ground, through the first three games of the NFL season.

Does this week’s opponent, the Detroit Lions, need to worry about him?

Yes, I would say so - - and for a number of reasons.

With the 31st-ranked defense in the league, I would say it is time to hit the panic button.

Why?

Montgomery is a quiet runner. I did not discover how good he really is until I watched him in every snap over the past three games against the Rams, Bengals and Browns on NFL Game Pass.

He is a patient and instinctual, tough runner with good balance, and he is not easy to bring down. If you do not believe me, just ask Rams star defensive end Aaron Donald, who had a clean shot at him Week 1, on his way to the end zone, and could not bring him down.

Touchdown Montgomery.

If there is a knock on Montgomery, he runs too high and erect, but he also makes up for it by gliding along like a steel-tipped paper airplane.

He is just this smooth, darting and physical runner who reminds me in a lot of ways of former Minnesota Vikings star running back Robert Smith.

He sneaks up on you, too.

Once Montgomery takes the handoff, he demonstrates great instincts, initially accelerating up through the holes, and he finds the slightest of creases to cut it outside. And, once he is past the initial wave of defenders, it is off to the races.

Montgomery hammers defenders, and gives would-be tacklers everything they can handle. There is only one way to stop Montgomery dead in his tracks, and that is with a strong, wrapping tackle.

Montgomery is also more than capable of picking up huge chunks of yardage at times, which is anything but good news for Detroit and its shoddy tackling efforts as a unit.

With Detroit inside linebacker Alex Anzalone, who tends to get pushed around like a rag doll, and the team's two safeties in Will Harris and Tracy Walker, who don’t want much of anything to do with stopping the run, this is even more reason for the Lions to worry.

It’s like Detroit is playing with eight men on defense, which plays right into Montgomery’s second-effort style of running.

Montgomery takes what defenses give to him, and he dishes it out to see what defenses have for an answer. There is just no quit in the guy.

He is also a reliable receiving option out of the backfield, and he is not just a safety valve, either.

Once Montgomery is in the open field after catching the ball, he can juke a defender practically out of his cleats. Just ask the Cincinnati Bengals.

When you least expect it, Montgomery can also scoot over into the old wildcat formation, and take a direct snap, like he did last week against the Cleveland Browns.

There is just a lot of ways Montgomery can hurt a defense, which is anything but what the 0-3 Lions want to hear.

Montgomery is a legitimate game-changing back, who must be accounted for at all times.

While Chicago has been shuffling him in and out of its backfield this season, it would be wise if Detroit zeroed in on him in its gameplan this week, as Montgomery's success on the ground sets everything else up for Chicago’s offense.

The biggest problem of all comes when Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields is in there and he options off Montgomery, creating a misdirection by one of the two aforementioned game-breaking runners.

Detroit has enough problems as it is, when it can actually see the football.