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 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 run with 29 seconds left in 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 had 12 carries for 76 yards. On the Lions’ go-ahead drive, he had 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 afterward. 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.”
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.”
Foreman hurt
Running back D’Onta Foreman hurt his right ankle in the third quarter and did not return. Foreman had been hampered in the first half, too, and had trouble with the ankle against the Panthers 10 days earlier.
Foreman had six carries for 14 yards, including a one-yard touchdown.
Bears running backs ran 28 times for only 79 yards. In his first game back from injured reserve, Herbert ran 16 times for 35 yards, and Roschon Johnson ran six times for 30 yards.
This and that
Center Lucas Patrick didn’t play in the second half because of a back injury. He was hit in the second quarter after the Lions thought they recovered a fumble. Dan Feeney — not Cody Whitehair, who has struggled with snap accuracy — took his place.
† Middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds returned from a knee injury suffered against the Chargers after only one practice and had an interception on a tipped pass.
† Two sets of brothers were on the field: the Lions’ Julian and Romeo Okwara and the Lions’ Amon-Ra and the Bears’ Equanimeous St. Brown. Had Bears linebacker Noah Sewell, who hurt his knee in practice during the week, played against his brother Penei, it would have been the third time in NFL history that three sets of brothers played in one game.
