Why Bengals Game Will Be Special For Lions RB David Montgomery

This week, Detroit Lions runningback David Montgomery will lace up his cleats and run out to compete in his 93rd NFL game.

The veteran running back will also be returning home. The 28-year-old was born in Cincinnati and played high school ball at Mount Healthy, Ohio, a 20-minute drive to Paycor Stadium (previously known as Paul Brown Field).

However, for the muscular half of the dynamic Detroit backfield duo, it will be much more meaningful than just a homecoming game. He recently appeared on the "Up & Adams Show" to discuss the personal importance of this game.

While it is more than a homecoming game for Montgomery, Sunday does mark his first game back in Cincinnati since Montgomery left high school.

“I have never played in Cincinnati since leaving Cincinnati,” Montgomery revealed. “It will be cool, playing against the team that, when I grew up, that was the team that was like my team. I was the hometown kid.”

While more family can attend Sunday’s game, the most important attendee for Montgomery is his sister.

“A bunch of my family members are coming, I think it is special for me that I get to play at home,” Montgomery said. “But I think it is really special for me because my sister gets to come to the game.”

His sister, Kiki, was left paralyzed from the neck down following a car accident last February. On Sunday, her brother gets to suit up and play football in front of her for the first time since that day.

“Almost a year and a half ago, on Valentine’s Day, my sister got in a really bad car accident. Now she is paralyzed from the neck down. And she obviously can’t move and …” Montgomery reflected. “But this will be the first game that my sister can actually see me play with her own eyes so I’m super super excited about that and I’m just happy that she’s able to be there.”

Montgomery has already set the groundwork for a career year. Against Cincinnati’s fellow AFC North rival, the Baltimore Ravens, Montgomery diced up the flock for 151 yards and two touchdowns, setting a career high in yards. His longest rush, a 72-yard scamper, currently sits as the longest rush during the early stages of the 2025 season.

He, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Amon-Ra St. Brown also set the mark for most games where a trio all found the end zone for one squad. That goes hand-in-hand with his record with Gibbs, for most games with both backs scoring a touchdown.

The game of football is one that provides plenty of ways to motivate a player. Looking in the Lions’ locker room, St. Brown has a well-known story about memorizing the receivers drafted before him. For Montgomery, however, his motivation against Cincinnati is much more than coming back home. The hometown player finally gets to play in front of his sister again.