Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are hoping to make NFL history as a running back duo on Monday Night Football, and the pair use Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders as inspiration
David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs form one of the most devastating running back tandems in the NFL(Image: Getty Images)
Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders serves as an inspiration for both Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, the men currently in the position he once occupied.
The Lions are preparing to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football in a showdown between two NFC powerhouses. Detroit will be without safety Brian Branch due to suspension to hamstring the physical Lions defense, but the offense will continue to tick with Gibbs and Montgomery running the ball.
Entering Week 7, the duo was on pace to each eclipse 1,000 rushing yards. Gibbs leads the team with 390 rushing yards and four touchdowns, while Montgomery was just behind him with 334 yards and four scores.
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Both men look up to Sanders, the Hall of Famer who tallied 15,269 yards across his career. At the home opener, a win over the Chicago Bears, Sanders was up in the stands as Gibbs and Montgomery combined for 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a crushing 52-21 win.
“Every time he’s at the game, I just want to show out,” Gibbs told ESPN. “Like, —-, that’s Barry Sanders. So, every time he’s at the game, I try to make sure I’m on point.”
Montgomery concurred, adding: “I think for us, it gives us the ability to realize the standard and what we’ve got to live up to, just knowing that Barry walked the same grounds that we walked. It’s only right for us to respect him by paying homage by running with a kind of authority that he ran with.”
After retiring suddenly in 1999, Sanders serves as a Lions ambassador but he has been more present around the franchise recently. He has developed relationships with both Gibbs and Montgomery, who were shocked to hear in June 2024 that Sanders had suffered a heart attack.
“I thought it was like heartburn or a pulled muscle or something,” Sanders told ESPN. “It wasn’t the worst pain; it was just very persistent. It was just kind of annoying, honestly.”
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Barry Sanders suffered a heart attack in 2024 but has recovered and remains a key member of the Lions organization(Image: Getty Images)
He was admitted to Henry Ford Hospital, where his top risk factor was high cholesterol. Sanders spent three days in the hospital before fully recovering.
“You don’t ever want to hear nobody having issues like that, but for anyone who knows Barry, he’s a fighter, so I wasn’t too much worried about how he was going to recover,” Montgomery added.
From the Lions all-time great to the current duo, Sanders has offered advice to both Gibbs and Montogmery. The latter keep his words private, while Gibbs revealed: “He just says, ‘Go kill ’em.’ That’s all he needs to say.”
Since being paired together by head coach Dan Campbell in 2023, Gibbs and Montgomery utilise their different running game to impact defenses. Gibbs leans on his all-round nature as a speedy weapon in the passing game, while Montgomery’s bruising style dismantles opponents.
Last season, Gibbs and Montgomery helped the Lions average 146.4 rushing yards per game, which was the highest mark by the team in a season since 1997, when the Sanders-led Lions averaged 154.0 rushing yards. Against the Bucs, the duo have the opportunity to break a tie with Dallas Cowboys’ stars Emmitt Smith and Daryl Johnston for the most touchdowns by a pair of running back teammates in the Super Bowl era.
The 4-2 Lions host the 5-1 Buccaneers at Ford Field on Monday, Oct. 20.
