EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — If "necessity is the mother of invention," Packers receiver turned running back Ty Montgomery is the offspring creation.
Injuries to Eddie Lacy (out for season) and James Starks (dealing with a concussion from a car accident) prompted Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy to fill the void with Montgomery, particularly in the past three weeks.
Montgomery had six carries for 40 yards against Houston, nine for 41 with a touchdown against Seattle and 16 for 162 on Sunday in Chicago. He also had 60 yards on nine carries when the Packers hosted the Bears in Week 9.
The second-year pro has more than 300 receiving yards, more than 300 rushing yards and more than 300 kickoff return yards.
Vikings coaches and defenders have been impressed by what Montgomery has added, the way he's provided a threat to the ever-dangerous pass offense, and maybe most importantly by the way he's broken tackles.
"He's a good running back. He's done a lot of good things for them in the running game," defensive end Brian Robison said. "He's definitely a guy that we've got to make sure we gang tackle and get him to the ground. He's shown that when he's able to break those tackles, he can make some hay and get extra yards.
"We've got to get to him, and the second or third guy, guys that come in, we've got to try to get the ball out and hopefully create some turnovers and put our offense in good field position," Robison added.
The 162 net rushing yards is impressive, and analytics site Pro Football Focus graded **Montgomery at 83.6** for Week 15, highest of any running back. The site tallied 160 of his net yards as occurring after contact, which seemed like a typo at first, but a review on **NFL Game Pass** confirmed.
Montgomery escaped a tackle three yards behind the line of scrimmage during a run that netted 61 yards, he had a 36 yard run on which 35 came after contact and had a 26-yard gain that could have been a 2-yard loss during the game. Montgomery also broke a tackle attempt at the Chicago 7 during a 4-yard touchdown.
Christine Michael added 45 rush yards on four carries, including a 42-yard touchdown during which he gained 28 after breaking a tackle.
The Vikings know they must bounce back from allowing a season-worst 161 rushing yards on 40 attempts by the Colts last week.
Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer said that Montgomery (listed at 6 feet and 216 pounds) has been able to call on his experience as a kick returner.
"He's a strong runner," Zimmer said. "He breaks a lot of tackles."
The Packers used the pistol and shotgun formation to help create space and angles. Green Bay ran with Montgomery in the pistol formation (standing behind Aaron Rodgers) 11 times and by Rodgers' side in the shotgun five times.
Zimmer's thoughts were part of a response to a larger question about the difficulty a player would face by transitioning from receiver to running back, which would require learning protections.
The mobility of Rodgers, his ability to scramble for gains against man-to-man coverages or buy time for receivers to elude defenders, could reduce some potential protection problems when a defense beats the offensive line.
In addition to the newfound threat as a runner, the Vikings must deal with Montgomery's skills as a receiver as well.
"He's really turned into a good running back for them and schematically for what they do with getting the back out into routes and those types of deals," Vikings Defensive Coordinator George Edwards said. "He's done a real nice job for them catching the ball out of the backfield, having the ability to line up out there in spread formation. Of course he's a receiver, so his skill-set helps him there. He'll be a tough matchup for us."
