ALLEN PARK >> A few weeks ago, Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said the next thing he wanted to see from Jahmyr Gibbs is a long run.

Despite his shiftiness and breakaway speed, Gibbs’ longest run as a pro through 20 games was 36 yards.

Well, that all changed on Sunday when Gibbs exploded for a 45-yard touchdown run to get the offense rolling in a 31-29 win over the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.

What’s next?

“The next thing is can you do it twice or is that all he’s got? Is that all we get?” Montgomery said this week. “If that’s it then it was luck.”

Montgomery, of course, was joking. Gibbs’ talent is undeniable and the things he does with it on a football field are anything but luck. But if there is an area where Montgomery would like to see some growth now, it’s in pass protection.

“We do understand there are probably some mismatches, but it’s his job to make those mismatches become non-mismatches,” Montgomery said

Montgomery praised Gibbs’ downfield blocking on a 21-yard touchdown by Kalif Raymond against Minnesota.

Ultimately, the Lions just want to be able to put Gibbs on the field more. Whether that means pass protection, running receiver routes or carrying the rock — they just want to keep his explosiveness between the lines.

Since entering the league, Gibbs, the No. 12 pick in the 2023 draft, has been one of the most explosive players in football. He’s averaging 6.2 yards per touch and 5.7 yards per run this season. Despite sharing a backfield with David Montgomery, Gibbs ranks eighth in the NFL in rushing yards per game (77.3).

Eventually, the Lions would like to add more to his plate as a receiver. His progression over the summer was halted by a nagging hamstring injury that caused him to miss several weeks. Prior to that, he was staying after practice nearly every day to work on his route tree and releases.

“We’ve got a lot more, schematically, that we can grow with him, and now it’s about putting in the time, putting in the effort,” Scottie Montgomery said.

Mr. Blitz

In the first game without Aidan Hutchinson, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn dialed up his highest blitz percentage of the season (51.4%).

It seemed to have pretty decent results. Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold was under pressure 34.3% of dropbacks and recorded his second-lowest passer rating of the season (103.5).

“I like to blitz anyway,” Glenn said Thursday. “Listen, it’s really by game plan and it’s about the players that you have.”

Over six games, the Tennessee Titans’ highest opponent blitz percentage was 37% and their season-long blitz percentage (24.4%) ranks 27th. Despite that, teams are having no trouble getting to the quarterback. Only the New England Patriots give up pressure more frequently than the Tennessee offense.

Still, when the Lions need to generate some pressure on Sunday, don’t be surprised to see Trevor Nowaske, Jack Campbell or Alex Anzalone coming in hot.

“You’ve got Jack, he’s a 6-foot-4, 250-pound man on the running back. Man, I’m going to take that matchup all the time. Same thing with Alex, you have a 6-3, 240-pound man on a back, I’m going to take that matchup all the time,” Glenn said. “So, it’s not the fact that we’re just trying to blitz to recoup what Hutch gave us, it’s the game plan that we’re trying to make sure we take advantage of.

“But at the end of the day, I like to blitz.”