Instant Observations: David Montgomery leads Lions to thrilling OT win

DETROIT – They didn't always look like Super Bowl favorites. They didn't always have an answer for Matthew Stafford. They couldn't even run the ball properly until overtime.

But just like last year, the Detroit Lions prevailed in another classic against one of the NFC's best.

Jake Bates forced overtime on a 32-yard field in the final seconds of regulation, then the Lions finally showed off the running game they had been missing all night, turning the ball over seven times in eight plays, the last of which was a 1-yard run by David Montgomery that gave them a thrilling 26-20 OT win over the Los Angeles Rams on opening night.

Kalif Ramond ran around left end for 12 yards in overtime, then Montgomery set the physical tone, charging through LA's defense for 21 yards. One play later, he bounced off a sure tackle and gained nine more yards. In total, Detroit ran the ball seven times for 60 yards in the overtime period, and Matthew Stafford — who was so good in his second straight game at Ford Field — was sent home with another Detroit loss.

The Lions have now opened their season with a dramatic prime-time win for the second year in a row and go into the match 1-0 up despite some difficulties in the second half that made the game more dramatic than necessary.

The Lions took an early 17-3 lead thanks to some brilliant work from Jameson Williams. First, he caught a 36-yard pass for a touchdown, and then he scored another one himself with a 52-yard pass. Williams had free reign behind the defense despite illegal contact. Yeah, the kid isn't bad. He finished the game with a career-high 134 yards on six total touches, a nice coming out party for the former first-round pick.

The newly formed defense also started strong, thwarting scoring opportunities with a sack by Levi Onwuzurike and Marcus Davenport and an interception by Kerby Joseph in the end zone just before halftime. But things went downhill for this unit in the second half. Missed tackles were a big problem and cornerbacks dropped two potential interceptions. But no one made bigger mistakes than Terrion Arnold. The first-round pick was the centerpiece of the rebuild in the secondary, but was penalized twice for pass interference in the end zone in the second half, leading to 10 points during a 17-0 run by the Rams.

Stafford was good in the wild-card game in January, but he was even better in his return for the opener. He completed seven straight passes during a late lead-making drive and found Cooper Kupp for a 9-yard touchdown that gave LA a 20-17 lead with 4:30 left. The former Lions star completed 34 of 49 passes for 317 yards, a touchdown and a pick, a standout performance considering his offensive line – down to just two starters – was decimated by injuries.

But just like in the season, the Lions made the decisive plays. The defense made a stop just before the 2-minute warning, then Jared Goff quickly found Sam LaPorta for 18 yards and was given an additional 15 yards for a penalty for “roughing the passer.” Short passes to Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams brought the ball to LA's 14-yard line, but there the drive stalled and Detroit had to settle for overtime.

Then an offense that had trouble moving the ball consistently in the second half – especially on the ground – won the game convincingly. Detroit managed 70 yards in eight plays, seven of which were runs.

Montgomery scored the winning goal and the Lions opened this highly anticipated season with another thrilling win against one of the NFC's elite.

Let’s move on to some more spontaneous observations:

— Amon-Ra St. Brown had three catches for 13 yards and had the ball taken away on an interception. Sam LaPorta had four catches for 45 yards, including one with 18 seconds left in regulation. Last year, that would have been a problem for the All-Pros. This year, they have Jameson Williams.

Welcome to the Jamo Show, folks. Don't forget your popcorn. The kid has always been able to fly, and now that he's had a full offseason to work on his running routes and hands, the Lions are ready to unleash him as a WR2. On opening night, he played like a WR1, delivering the first big play of the season — simply outrunning the defense and running a 36-yard catch-and-run — before fighting through an illegal contact penalty and hauling in a 52-yard pass. He added a 27-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter, and by run, I mean run. I don't know if he's the down-to-down force he could eventually become, but there's no doubt he's going to make a big play. And now that he's expected to get about twice as many plays this season, the math is pretty simple when watching this kid play.

While only time will tell if he has achieved the consistency Detroit demands from his new WR2 role, the results on opening night were worthy of Jamo: simply electrifying. And if that's the Jamo we expect, this offense could go from great to terrifying. The offense will always run through St. Brown, and fellow All-Pro LaPorta isn't too bad either. But if a guy like Williams can really stretch the defense vertically, a great offense could become lethal.

— While Williams had the best night of his career, the rest of the offense struggled with an inconsistent performance. David Montgomery rushed for third- and fourth-and-one conversions to set up an early field goal, and Jahmyr Gibbs later added a 1-yard touchdown. But the Lions' vaunted running game was silenced for the rest of regulation, and none of the tailbacks managed a run of more than 8 yards until overtime, when Montgomery reminded the world why he is one of the NFL's best clutch running backs. He finished the game with 91 yards on 17 carries.

— After Stafford said Kerby Joseph misplayed the game this week, Joseph responded by intercepting a huge pass in the end zone late in the second quarter. The Rams had advanced to the Detroit 8-yard line when Stafford was forced off the deck by a pressure from Aidan Hutchinson and Joseph came in to strip the ball from Tyler Johnson, securing a 10-3 lead with 15 seconds left before halftime. Joseph has now intercepted the ball four times in his final three regular-season games since the end of last season.

— Elsewhere at the safety position, Brian Branch made his debut at his new position. He was a rookie slot last season, but the Lions believe he will make more plays out of the back line of defense. The potential is certainly there, but Branch struggled with the new assignment, dropping one pick, narrowly missing another and missing at least three tackles, one of which would have been for a tackle for a loss. Learning a new position is hard, and Branch did it while missing the entire offseason program before being slowly introduced back in training camp. He just didn't get many live calls, and that seemed to show on opening night.

— It took Levi Onwuzurike just two series to show why so much hype surrounded the former second-round pick out of Allen Park this offseason, dropping Stafford for a huge sack that forced a field goal attempt deep in Lions territory. Onwuzurike blasted through the Rams' interior offensive line on a powerful bull rush. That's exactly what Onwuzurike was supposed to do when he was selected high in the 2021 draft — he famously said he was here to “upset quarterbacks” just minutes after being selected — but back injuries left his rookie training camp in disarray. He never made a serious contribution that year and didn't play at all in 2022. But Onwuzurike finally had a healthy offseason this year, and coaches and players went out of their way to identify him as a potential breakout player. He earned the first start of his career on opening night and then steamrolled Stafford in the first quarter of the season. If Onwuzurike is the right fit, along with what Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill and DJ Reader can do defensively, Detroit will be tough to stop up front this season. A great wildcard player and the early results are pretty darn promising.

— First-round draft pick Terrion Arnold started at right cornerback in his NFL debut. He played well in the first half, allowing only short passes in front of him, before coming under some attack in the second half. He allowed a 21-yard catch by Cooper Kupp, then left the game briefly with a left leg injury before returning and being penalized twice for pass interference. The first time against Kupp and resulted in an immediate touchdown, while the second came for heavy contact with DeMarcus Robinson. Arnold didn't like that, but that's what gets penalized every time. That led to a field goal that cut Detroit's lead to 17-13 with 12:35 left.

— Ennis Rakestraw, second-round pick, briefly replaced Arnold in his NFL debut. Most of his contributions came on special teams, where his most notable contribution was pounding one of the best punts ever seen into the end zone. Jack Fox threw a 62-yard bomb that hit near the 1-yard line and then spun back into the field, only for Rakestraw to slide back into the end zone with the football. A rookie moment for a guy who seemed to be trying too hard to make a play.

— The Rams were pummeled by the Lions' defense, losing star receiver Puka Nacua and offensive tackle Joe Notebloom in the first half while Stafford limped after another hit at Ford Field. No, that's not a recording.

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