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David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs Shared Cool Moment With Real Life Sonic and Knuckles

Josh Wilson

Montgomery and Gibbs have been bestowed the nickname 'Sonic and Knuckles' for their one-two backfield punch
Montgomery and Gibbs have been bestowed the nickname 'Sonic and Knuckles' for their one-two backfield punch / Screengrab, @Lions on X
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Coming into Thanksgiving day, Jahmyr Gibbs is eighth in the NFL in rushing yards and tied for fourth for rushing touchdowns. His backfield partner, David Montgomery, is 18th in yards and second in touchdowns.

It has earned the duo the nickname of "Sonic and Knuckles," a nod to the Sega video game characters who first appeared alongside each other in a 1994 game where they collaborate to take down their arch-rival, Dr. Robotnik.

The duo met mascot versions of their nickname inspiration before their Thanksgiving day game against the Bears in a cool moment:

A closer look at the clip reveals awesome Sonic and Knuckles jackets that Gibbs and Montgomery are wearing. Earlier this week, CBS put out a funny Sonic and Knuckles-themed promotional for the Thanksgiving game.

It helps that Paramount+, the CBS streaming service, produces the Knuckles (2024) show and Sonic movies, of which the third is scheduled to hit theaters in December. Lots of serendipitous synergy.

While most backfields like this circle the drain and wind up becoming committees which result in both players boasting merely average stat lines, these two have bucked the trend. Both are getting significant touches and putting up RB1-level lines.

It has culminated in the Lions going into Thanksgiving week with a 10-1 record, best in the NFC and tied for best in the NFL.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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