Earlier this season, as an unbalance in the workload for the Detroit Lions' top two running backs became impossible to ignore, here's what head coach Dan Campbell said.
"I would like to balance them [Gibbs and Montgomery] out," Campbell said. "I would like to give David some more [chances], find a place to get him a few more."
That was heading into Week 7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not coincidentally, David Montgomery had 13, 11 and 15 carries in the following three games, with that last one being Campbell's first game as the play caller after taking those duties from offensive coordinator John Morton.
In six games since then, Montgomery has fewer carries (36) than he had during that three-game stretch (39). Frankly, despite scoring in three straight games before Week 16 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he has become a non-entity to the Lions' offense. But most every week Campbell continues to say he wants to get "Knuckles" more involved, as if it's not in the offensive play-caller's control.
Talk of getting David Montgomery more involved has proven hollow
It's no secret that game script tends to drive how the Lions' deploy Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. If they are leading, Monrtgomery tends to see more work as the proverbial "closer." High-scoring, pass-heavy games generally tilt things toward Gibbs, and the absence of tight end Sam LaPorta has expanded his involvement as a pass catcher in recent weeks.
The struggles of the Lions' defense over the last five games has put the offense in a position to have to score a lot, and at times do it quickly. That naturally means Gibbs over Montgomery, but Week 16 against the Steelers was a little different.
Early in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh paid off a long drive with a field goal to give themselves a 15-10 lead. They would score a touchdown to make it 22-10, then the Lions countered to narrow the margin back to five. Another long touchdown run by Steelers running back Jaylen Warren made it 29-17, which then meant Gibbs was going to see more work over the rest of the game.
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But for three-plus quarters of the game, the Lions either led (10-3 in the second quarter), were tied or trailed by no more than five points. Yet, Montgomery finished with just four carries while playing a season-low 13 offensive snaps. The struggles the run game had were obvious, but the Lions also had just 12 rushing attempts in a game that wasn't more than one score separated until into the fourth quarter.
As usually happens when a coach talks about getting a player more involved in the offense, there's an immediate spike like Montgomery had. The question then becomes if that spike will stick, and sometimes it ends up not sticking for very long due to any number of reasons.
Shy of a hidden injury he's playing through, there's not an obvious explanation for Montgomery's lack of usage in recent weeks. Not that he should be getting 15 carries a game while Gibbs takes a backseat, but three straight games playing less than 20 snaps invites questions.
Two months of Campbell talking about getting Montgomery more touches has brought us to what has to be a low-point heading into the final two games of the season. And those may prove to be Montgomery's last two games in a Lions' uniform if things continue to go the way they have.