When the Lions ran onto the turf at Soldier Field a year ago this week, David Montgomery had little reason to respect them. The running back had only lost to them once in his Bears career. He viewed the contests as “stat games,” he told Lions reporters this week, and would, at least figuratively, circle the dates of their games.
“Last year it was a whole different story,” Montgomery said.
The first time they met, in Week 10 last year, the Lions won 31-30.
“I’m like, ‘Maybe it was a fluke,’” he said.
The next time they met, in Week 17, the Lions won 41-10.
“They did it to us again a second time,” Montgomery said. “I’m like, all right, maybe they’re the real deal.
“Then I got over here and I’m like, yeah, it’s the real deal.”
The Bears were surprised in March when Montgomery turned down their offer of a contract extension for similar money from, of all teams, the Lions. Until last year, they’d finished last in the NFC North in each of Montgomery’s seasons.
To lose one of their best-known players outside of Halas Hall and one of their most respected inside of it to the Lions was a bad look for the Bears. It stung even more when, two months after he signed a three-year, $18 million deal, Montgomery said that the Bears’ losing “sucked the fun out of the game for me.”
That’s not to say that losing Montgomery has crushed the Bears. Montgomery averages 83.5 rushing yards per game, the most by any player who’s appeared in more than four games. He’s played in six games because of a ribs injury, but was strong in his return Sunday, totaling 116 yards on 12 carries. He’s the physical component of the Lions’ thunder-and-lightning timeshare; only four players have more runs of 20 yards or more than Jahmyr Gibbs, the running back the Lions drafted No. 12 overall in April.
“He’s aggressive, he’s relentless, he’s a punisher,” Bears safety Eddie Jackson said.
The Bears, though, rank fifth in the NFL in rushing yards per game. Veteran D’Onta Foreman, whom the Bears signed shortly after Montgomery left, averages 61.2 rushing yards per game, as many as Bijan Robinson. Pro Football Focus grades the Bears’ Khalil Herbert, who’s likely to return from injured reserve Sunday, as the league’s sixth-best running back. Foreman ranks eighth, and Montgomery 10th.
There’s no denying the physicality Montgomery brought to the Bears in his four years with the team. Last year, it helped the offense figure out its identity.
“His play style, period, was contagious,” offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said Thursday.
Montgomery still talks to Getsy and his former teammates.
“They’re my guys, but they understand,” Montgomery said. “I understand, too, what it means — what’s getting ready to happen, too.”
Jackson said his understanding was that Montgomery “wanted to be here.” He doesn’t fault him from finding a place where he’s happy..
“He’s balling,” he said.” He’s getting that recognition he deserves.”
Receiver Darnell Mooney hasn’t talked to Montgomery this week — and won’t until after the game — but said he’s happy for him.
“Obviously, he’s seeing a little red this week, for sure, playing us,” he said.
Montgomery knows facing his former team for the first time will be special — but he’s trying to make sure it won’t be different. He said nerves won’t keep him up Saturday night. He’ll fall asleep the same way he always does — at 10:15 p.m., with a movie on the television.
“I’m just going to be me, man,” he said. “I’m not going to try to play out of the lines of myself. I’m going to be me. I think me being who I am is enough. I go out and play the way I play, play the way I know how.”
