Lions’ Quarterback on Having 2 Running Backs Combine for 218 Yards: ‘Pick Your Poison’

Detroit’s Jared Goff enjoyed the benefits of handing the ball off to his dynamic running back tandem in Monday night’s victory over Baltimore.

Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions warms up before a game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 30, 2023. Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff did his part to help his team pull off a 38–30 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, but handing off the ball simplified everything for him.

Lions running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs owned the Ravens with 218 yards and four touchdowns combined. Goff only had to throw for 202 yards and a touchdown.

“Pick your poison,” the Lions quarterback told reporters afterward.

“It’s hard, man. It really is. And I’ve said it before, them being able to be fresher than a back that’s taking 25, 30 carries is kind of the secret sauce.

“They’re both incredible, they both do everything right, they both block well, they both can catch, they both can run, obviously.”

Gibbs added 32 yards in the passing game on five catches, and Montgomery’s 13-yard catch helped as well. Ultimately, it was Gibbs and Montgomery delivering fourth-quarter touchdown runs that buried the Ravens.

Gibbs’ four-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter put the Lions ahead to stay at 28–21. Then, Montgomery’s 31-yard touchdown run with 1:42 left gave the Lions a 38–24 advantage.

Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson didn’t let the Lions run away at the end as he drove his team downfield 66 yards, and he finished it with a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Andrews with 29 seconds left. Lions tight end Sam LaPorta then denied the Ravens’ last chance by recovering the onside kick.

“Hard-fought game. Hats off to the Lions. Did the things they needed to do to win the game,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters afterward. “Our guys fought, but we didn’t do the things we needed to do to win the game. We have some things we need to get better at, things we’re going to be disappointed in when we watch that tape.”

Jackson turned in a strong performance, completing 21 of 27 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, plus 35 rushing yards on seven carries. Detroit’s defense got in his face a lot, though, with seven sacks, and Jackson noted that the Lions used stunts and a spy on defense to get him in the backfield.

“Sometimes the spy was grabbing my leg, and that’s just what it was. They were dropping into coverage, [and] they had three safeties back there, and I’m just not going to throw a Hail Mary ball,” Jackson told reporters afterward. “I’m going to read the coverage out, and then try to make something happen.”

Meanwhile, the Ravens didn’t have the ground game to match the Lions as running back Derrick Henry tallied only 50 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Henry also fumbled in the fourth quarter, allowing the Lions to extend their lead to 31–24.

“[We have to just] let it go. We had like six and a half minutes left in the game when that situation happened, and our defense did a great job stopping those guys,” Jackson said. “We just have to find a way to drive the ball down the field [and] score right away. We were still in the game. It wasn’t like it was a blowout or anything like that.”

That said, the Ravens defense didn’t crack the code on the Lions’ running back duo nicknamed Sonic and Knuckles from the popular old game Sonic the Hedgehog. Gibbs and Montgomery both scored in a game for the 11th time in their careers—an NFL record.

“It was not me at all,” Montgomery told reporters afterward. “You can’t play this game by yourself. The guys up front, the receivers, the tight ends, you can’t do that at all without those guys up front being selfless and moving those guys out of the way so I can have the right read. My job is easy. They do the hard part, so I’m grateful for those guys.”