David Montgomery both ran for a touchdown and threw for one on a gadget play in his hometown, while Jared Goff tossed three scoring passes as the Detroit Lions cruised to their fourth consecutive win, 37-24, over the struggling Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Montgomery, now in his seventh NFL season, recorded rushing and passing touchdowns in the same game for just the second time. The powerful runner once played quarterback at Cincinnati Mt. Healthy High School.
Montgomery — who gained 64 yards on 18 rushes — had over 20 relatives and friends present, including his sister Kiki, who was paralyzed in a February 2024 car accident. Montgomery greeted her near the Lions’ locker room before taking the field.
Jahmyr Gibbs also found the end zone for the Lions (4-1), marking the 14th time that he and Montgomery both scored in a game — tying Dallas’ Emmitt Smith and Daryl Johnston for the most such occurrences in NFL history.
The Bengals (2-3) have now dropped three straight by a combined margin of 113-37 since Joe Burrow went down with a toe injury during the second quarter of a 31-27 win against Jacksonville on Sept. 14.
Cincinnati fell behind 28-3 late in the third quarter before Jake Browning connected with Ja’Marr Chase for a pair of touchdown passes.
Browning completed 26 of 40 throws for 251 yards, tallying three touchdowns but also three interceptions. Chase finished with six catches for 110 yards.
With Detroit already ahead by a touchdown, Montgomery lined up in a wildcat formation on second-and-goal from the 3-yard line and tossed the ball to tight end Brock Wright, who was uncovered in the end zone as the Bengals anticipated a run.
Montgomery later pushed the Lions’ lead to 28-3 with an 8-yard scoring run off the left side with 5:43 left in the third quarter. Two plays earlier, he appeared ready to score again before being dragged down at the Cincinnati 8 after a 19-yard burst up the sideline.
Goff completed 19 of 23 passes for 258 yards, while Amon-Ra St. Brown caught eight passes for 100 yards. Tight end Sam LaPorta added five receptions for 92 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown where he flipped over Dax Hill and landed in the end zone.
Goff’s other scoring throws included a 20-yard screen to Gibbs, who broke four tackles to make it 21-3 early in the third quarter, and a 12-yard strike to Isaac TeSlaa in the fourth.
Long Time Coming
Chase’s 15-yard touchdown catch from Browning early in the fourth quarter marked Cincinnati’s first TD in 20 possessions, excluding kneel-downs.
.According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the throw had a 12.5% completion probability, the lowest of any touchdown pass this season. Chase had 0.6 yards of separation from cornerback Rock Ya-Sin and was just 0.2 yards from the sideline when he caught the ball.
Chase then narrowed the deficit to 28-17 with a 65-yard touchdown at the 10:22 mark, beating Amik Robertson on a double move, grabbing it at the Detroit 22, and racing untouched to the end zone.
Safety, Eventually
Detroit had a safety nullified by a defensive holding call in the second quarter but earned one late in the fourth when Derrick Barnes sacked Browning in the end zone.
