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No kneecaps were bitten off in the process, but the Detroit Lions had a street fight on their hands in their opening game of the 2024 season against a Los Angeles Rams team that saw their season end in Detroit just nine months ago. It took an extra five minutes, but in overtime, running back David Montgomery punched in a game-winning 1-yard touchdown run to get the Lions off to their second consecutive 1-0 start.
After the game, television commercial star/Applebee's spokesman/Lions head coach Dan Campbell celebrated with his team in the locker room, handing out a pair of game balls to two of his team's standout performers.
Dan Campbell – of Applebees’s fame – hands out game balls to RB David Montgomery and LB Alex Anzalone.
📹 @Lions pic.twitter.com/EIbYVfflyo
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 9, 2024
David Montgomery, who came to Detroit last season after spending the first four years of his career in Chicago, remains the Lions' bell-cow back even while sharing touches with emerging 2nd-year star Jahmyr Gibbs. Monty rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown against the Rams, his fourth game with at least 90 yards and a score since arriving in the Motor City.
“He runs heavy, he's tough, he's physical, he gets in a rhythm, and I think he's a catalyst for us,” Campbell said after the game, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. “He starts carrying it, and he gets better and better, and I think the line feeds off of him, and he feeds off of them, and we get what we get. That guy's a stud, he's a stud.”
Alex Anzalone sets the tone for Lions defense
On the other side of the ball, it was Alex Anzalone who led both teams with 13 tackles and 3 tackles for loss. Anzalone, who played in New Orleans when Dan Campbell was the Saints' tight ends coach, has come into his own since signing with the Lions in 2021, shortly after Campbell was named head coach.
In each of the last three seasons, Alex Anzalone has improved on his career high in tackles, going from 78 in 2021, to 125 in 2022, to 129 in 2023. Anzalone is off to a hot start this year. His 13 tackles are 4th-most in the league through the first fifteen games of Week 1.
In shades of the Playoffs last year, after a win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions now move on to a matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last year, in the NFC Divisional Round, Detroit held off a pesky Bucs team to advance to their first NFC Championship Game since 1991.
