DETROIT — David Montgomery wasn’t trying to stick it to the Bears. Just beat them. And that’s what he did.
After playing a bit role for much of the day as the Bears appeared headed to an upset victory, Montgomery helped fuel the Lions’ winning rally with five touches for 45 yards on their 11-play, 73-yard drive — including a one-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left for a stunning 31-26 victory over his former teammates Sunday at Ford Field.
“I’m excited to win in general. But it’s definitely a little sweeter to beat them,” Montgomery said. “It felt good.”
Montgomery finished with 12 carries for 76 yards. On the final drive, he hd receptions of 13 and nine yards and rushes of 12 and 10 yards before scoring easily on first-and-goal from the 1.
“I love this team,” Montgomery said. “To pull that one out in the fashion we did it, it was insane. It wasn’t the cleanest, but we were able to pull it out and that’s all that matters.”
It took a tremendous collapse by the Bears to make it happen, but in Montgomery’s eyes, the Lions won it. The Bears didn’t lose it.
“I came from the Bears. I know what kind of character those guys got over there,” Montgomery said. “That’s a good team over there. And they fought to the last second. We were able to pull it out. Hats off to those guys for standing a fight. And we’ll see them in a couple of weeks [Dec. 10 at Soldier Field]
As difficult as the game was for the Bears, there were no hard feelings afterwards Montgomery greeted many of his former teammates, Justin Fields, Darnell Mooney, Khalil Herbert and others, who seemed happy for him despite their own agony.
“I’m a Detroit Lion. [But] those are my guys over there,” Montgomery said. “But at the same time, they understand once you get between those white lines, it’s us or them. And they understood that. Once the game is over, they’re still my guys. I talked to Justin. I talked to Mooney. I talked to Khalil. They get it.”
Fields echoed that sentiment.
“David’s my brother, no matter where we are in life [or] in our football careers,” Fields said. “As much as it sucks seeing them win, I”m happy for him. He’s a great person and of course a great player. So it was great seeing him.”
