Two Teams, Three Star Running Backs: What to Watch in the NFC North Matchup
BY remi
In the realm of league rankings, the Packers and Lions running game couldn’t be any closer. Indeed, Green Bay has been doing a nice job on the ground, averaging 156.9 yards rushing in the current year alone and ranking number 5 all through.
Detroit is just trailing at 156.7, ranked sixth. But the manner in which these two NFC North rivals approach it on the ground is far different as they prepare to meet Sunday at Lambeau Field with first place in the division looming.
Beginning with Detroit, the Lions affixed themselves to a truly legitimate two-headed ground attack with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery to back it up.
The carries are pretty evenly divided—Gibbs has 92 rushes while Montgomery has 93—and so are the touchdowns—Gibbs has six while Montgomery has seven—and yet they have achieved a total of 1,006 rushing yards. They’re stop-and-go engines and ABS with their diverse body frames and speed patterns.
Gibbs is listed as a 5-9, 202-pound speedster and a ‘home-run hitter’, said Head Coach Matt LaFleur, who added he has had TD runs of 45 and 70 in the Lions two matches.
At the same time, Montgomery outweighs Jones by 30 pounds and is a 5-11, 230-pound, run-first physical force that LaFleur described as ‘one of the most physical backs in the league’. ‘
What you need to know is that you had better have a tackling plan if you are going to get in the face of this guy because he is going to try to knock you over.’ The Packers are, however, a team that is plenty familiar with both.
Gibbs is in his second season in the NFL but of course, in his college days he played for Georgia Tech before transferring to Alabama. His defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, was the head coach at Boston College when they played Gibbs twice.