It was apparent from the outset Monday night that the Detroit Lions wanted to establish their running game with authority.
What transpired thereafter was a historic performance, as running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs ran roughshod in Detroit's impressive 38-30 win over the Baltimore Ravens, combining for 218 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
"Pick your poison," said Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who threw the only non-rushing Lions TD to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the third quarter. "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."
The tandem known as Sonic and Knuckles -- or the NFL's best backfield tandem -- led a statistical and historical bonanza in which they each had rushing scores in a game for a league-record 11th time.
Montgomery was simply sensational, carrying just 12 times for a career-high 151 yards and two touchdowns -- including a 72-yard gain and a 31-yard score in the fourth quarter that essentially sealed the win.
"Seeing him having a big game like that is huge," Goff said. "It's awesome. It's great for him, but he's that type of player and [I] can see one of them doing it again next week."
Gibbs had 22 carries for 67 yards and two TDs -- along with five receptions for 32 yards, with the roles switching a bit as Gibbs was the workhorse and Montgomery was the gamebreaker. It added up to the Lions rushing for 224 of the team's 426 yards of offense. Lauded for their ground game with quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry, the Ravens were held to 85 yards on the ground in comparison.
"We expect to do that because we know we have a great O-line," Gibbs said. "We have a great [running back] room. It doesn't really come as a surprise."
Just how emphatic the Lions' running game proved to be was exemplified with Detroit marching to touchdowns on 98- and 96-yard scoring drives, the first culminating with a Montgomery 1-yard TD and the second finished off by a Gibbs 4-yard tally.
"That's Detroit Lions football," Montgomery told NFL Network's Steve Wyche after the game. "That's what we do. We knew when we were coming into this game, we had to hold the ball a little bit because they've got a couple of guys on that side of the ball that are dangerous. We just stuck to the game plan and ended up riding it out and getting a victory."
It was the first time since 2010 that a team had multiple 95-plus-yard touchdown drives on Monday Night Football, the last coming via the Houston Texans, also against the Ravens.
It was also a categorical display from the Lions running game, which was limited to 46 yards in a season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers, drawing questions as to whether the offense would remain as imposing as in recent seasons.
On Monday, the Lions running attack roared from the first drive to the last.
Gibbs had six carries for 12 yards and a 1-yard touchdown on the opening possession, an 11-play, 67-yard march in which it was apparent that Detroit was committed to the run, even as it set up Goff for 24- and 19-yard completions to Jameson Williams.
Montgomery didn't have a single opening-drive carry, but it hardly foreshadowed his contributions to come.
Tied at 7 with 1:43 to play in the first quarter, the Lions took over on their 2-yard line following a stellar 63-yard Jordan Stout punt, coupled with a Detroit penalty.
Led by Montgomery, the Lions embarked on an 18-play, 98-yard odyssey of a scoring drive that ate up 10 minutes and 48 seconds of clock. Montgomery ran the ball seven times for 31 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown to cap the march, one in which the Lions converted four third downs.
Once again tied at the tail end of the third quarter, Detroit vaulted back ahead on another lengthy drive, though this one was a sprint that encompassed 96 yards in just seven plays and 3:41, with Montgomery busting loose for a 72-yard gain before he was dragged down from behind.
Four plays later, Gibbs scored from 4 yards on a bit of razzle dazzle as Goff pitched it to St. Brown, who then optioned it off to Gibbs for six.
"I didn't know what we were gonna do. We had been practicing it for three years," Gibbs said of the play. "We had it my rookie year. This is the first time we ran it."
The Lions on Monday night were equal parts might and creativity out of the backfield, exemplified by St. Brown's usage and the propensity for using a tight end, as well. Plenty of times, Detroit sported a Maryland I-formation look with two backs and a tight end lined up behind Goff.
It was out of a single-back set in which Montgomery ran for the Lions' final score, though. He bounced right, cut to the sideline and raced to six, shrugging off a pair of arm tackles before crossing the goal line.
The production of Gibbs and Montgomery is unprecedented, as their aforementioned record 11 times rushing for scores in the same game can attest. They took it a step further on Monday though -- and rewound the clock by almost 100 years.
In the autumn of 1936, Hall of Famer Dutch Clark had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs -- along with a field goal and three extra points -- as the Lions lambasted the New York Giants, 38-0. Clark was complemented by the play of Ernie Caddell, who had two 40-yard touchdown gallops. The one-two backfield punch for head coach Potsy Clark was stellar that day -- Nov. 15, 1936.
Nearly a century later, Gibbs and Montgomery became the first Lions teammates with multiple rushing TDs in a game since Clark and Caddell.
On Monday night, Sonic and Knuckles put on a rushing performance for the ages.
