The Detroit Lions enter their Week 13 showdown with the Green Bay Packers knowing exactly where the game may be won or lost: on the ground. Detroit’s dynamic running back tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery faces a stiff challenge against one of the league’s most disciplined and effective run defenses, and that matchup figures to play a major factor in the NFC North battle.When these two teams met to open the season, Green Bay did an exemplary job containing Detroit’s rushing attack. The Lions produced only 46 rushing yards on 22 carries, with Montgomery managing just 25 yards and Gibbs finishing with 19.The third-year back has since emerged as one of the NFL’s most explosive playmakers, rushing for 951 yards, ripping off large gains at an elite level, and sustaining a staggering 6.1 yards per carry average. Additionally, nearly half of his yardage has come on runs of 15-plus yards. Yet, replicating his recent dominance on the ground won’t come easy against Green Bay. Matt LaFleur’s defense has permitted more than 100 yards on the ground only four times all season. Earlier this week, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley emphasized the importance of discipline when facing someone with Gibbs’ game-changing speed and big-play ability. “You can’t be out of your gap. You can’t run up the field,” Hafley told reporters Tuesday. “If you’re supposed to be a three-technique and have the B gap, you better be a three-technique and have the B gap.“If you’re on the backside, you can’t run up the field. You got to squeeze back and make sure there’s no huge holes in our rush lanes because, if he cuts the ball back in our A gap and you’re not there, there’s a chance he can score because he’s that fast. So, you have to be extremely sound and extremely disciplined.”The Lions, meanwhile, continue to rely upon the thunder-and-lightning duo that has become the focal point of their offense. While Gibbs’ efficiency has drawn the headlines, Montgomery remains a critical piece of the Lions’ ground game. Montgomery enters the Week 13 contest averaging 10 carries and 46.5 yards per game, while providing the physical element Detroit relies on to sustain drives and wear down defensive fronts. Lions head coach Dan Campbell had high praise for Gibbs this week. “You can’t argue with everything that he’s able to do,” Campbell said of Gibbs. “He’s such a versatile player. I go back to this, it’s one of the reasons why we loved him so much when he was coming out [in the 2023 draft] is that, man, forget the – which is a huge part of it – the ability that he has.“He’s got some rare ability, but he’s smart, he’s a football guy, he can retain a lot of information. Knows all those jobs, and it doesn’t slow him down. He’s an instinctive football player. He’s got unbelievable vision for a runner. He knows how to set up blocks, and then he’s got the explosiveness and speed to finish. So, he’s got it all.”One Packers player who will play a key role in slowing down Detroit’s ground attack is All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney. Of all Green Bay defenders with north of 200 run-defense snaps, McKinney possesses the highest Pro Football Focus run-defense grade (78.7). He’s also graded out as the eighth-best safety in the NFL today (78.5). The Lions’ offense operates at its best when Gibbs and Montgomery force defenses to commit extra resources to the box, opening up Jared Goff’s play-action game. Conversely, the Packers are fully aware that limiting Detroit on the ground gives them the blueprint they used to emerge victorious in Week 1.In this Thanksgiving clash, I believe the Lions, via the legs of Gibbs and Montgomery, will ultimately amass 112 total yards and a single touchdown on the ground.More from Lions OnSI