Detroit Lions 34-20 Green Bay Packers: David Montgomery scores three touchdowns in Lions rout over Packers

David Montgomery rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns as the Detroit Lions asserted themselves as the team to beat in the NFC North with a 34-20 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

Montgomery carried the ball 32 times after he sat out the Lions' victory over Atlanta last Sunday with a thigh bruise. He became the first Lion to rush for three touchdowns at Green Bay and the first Detroit player to top 100 yards rushing with three touchdowns since James Stewart in 2000.

The Lions (3-1) beat the Packers (2-2) for a fourth straight time, a streak that also includes the final game of last season, when Detroit denied Green Bay a playoff spot in Aaron Rodgers' last game with the Packers.

Rodgers' replacement, Jordan Love, threw for a touchdown and ran for another as he tried to rally the Packers in the second half. He finished 23 of 36 for 246 yards and was picked off twice by Jerry Jacobs.

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Detroit led 27-3 at halftime and had outgained Green Bay 284 yards to 21 as the half ended with boos from the crowd. It was the Lions' highest-scoring first half against the Packers in the series' 188-game history.

The Packers had staged an improbable rally five days earlier, trailing New Orleans 17-0 before scoring 18 points in the final 11 minutes for a one-point victory.

Green Bay faced a halftime deficit of at least 17 points in back-to-back weeks for the first time in franchise history. And this time, it was too much to overcome.

Stats leaders:

Detroit Lions

• Passing: Jared Goff, 19/28, 210 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
• Rushing: David Montgomery, 32 carries, 121 yards, 3 TDs
• Receiving: Josh Reynolds, 3 catches, 69 yards
• Amon-Ra St Brown, 5 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Passing: Jordan Love, 23/36, 246 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
• Rushing: Aaron Jones, 5 carries, 18 yards
• Receiving: Romeo Doubs, 9 catches, 95 yards

Love got the Packers within 10 points. His one-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson capped a season-long 86-yard drive to open the second half.

Jayden Reed ended the third quarter with a 44-yard catch that set up Love's nine-yard touchdown run with 14:52 left in the game to make it 27-17.

Detroit responded with a 14-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Montgomery's one-yard touchdown run on third-and-goal, that took nearly nine minutes off the clock and put the game away.

The Lions were prepared to settle for a 30-yard field goal that would have kept it as a two-score game, but they gained a first down when Green Bay's Quay Walker received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for running forward and leaping across the line in an attempt to block the kick.

Rudy Ford intercepted Jared Goff on the third play from scrimmage to set up a field goal. Detroit then scored 24 points on its next four drives to delight the sizeable contingent of Lions fans who decorated the Lambeau Field stands in Honolulu blue.

Goff's 24-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Amon-Ra St. Brown put the Lions ahead for good. Montgomery scored on runs of three and two yards, while Riley Patterson kicked field goals of 33 and 37 yards.

The second quarter was nearly halfway over and the Lions already led 24-3 when the Packers finally got their initial first down thanks to a Detroit penalty. The Packers didn't get a first down on their own merits until seven seconds remained before halftime.

Scoring summary

What did they say?

Lions running back David Montgomery: "It just felt real different coming in with the group of guys that I'm with. I'm blessed to come out here with these guys and get the dub. That's big for me. I can tell my son that I beat the Packers, so I'm excited to say that and excited to be a part of this team."

Lions quarterback Jared Goff: "Send us anywhere, line us up against anyone and we feel like we can go in there and beat them. That's a good feeling to have."

Packers quarterback Jordan Love: "I think just offensively as a whole we've just got to start faster. We don't start fast and we kind of get behind and it's hard running the ball. We get put in situations where you've got to throw the ball. So I think we've just got to start faster."

What next?

The Lions (3-1) host the Carolina Panthers (0-3) next Sunday, while the Packers (2-2) continue their season one the road against the Las Vegas Raiders (1-2) in Week Five.

Week Four in the NFL continues on Sunday night when the Miami Dolphins face the Buffalo Bills, with coverage from 5pm ahead of kickoff from 6pm live on Sky Sports NFL, before the New England Patriots take on the Dallas Cowboys from 9.25pm.