Following up on the ongoing story. ... As SI.com's Christian Booher notes, with David Montgomery expected to be out for the Detroit Lions' Week 3 matchup against Atlanta, the stage is set for rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
The 2023 No. 12 overall pick has been utilized in both the passing and running game for the Lions' offense through the first two weeks. With the injury to Detroit's starter, though, Gibbs is expected to take a more prominent role.

Billed as an exciting, dynamic player, there are high hopes for what Gibbs can bring to Ben Johnson's offensive system.

The rookie is welcoming the challenge that an expanded role would bring heading into Sunday's game.

"Yeah, you always get excited when you get to play some more and touch the ball some more," Gibbs said. "I'll be pretty amped up."

The matchup pits him against Bijan Robinson, whom the Falcons drafted No. 8 overall. The duo is the only two running backs to be drafted in the first round of this year's draft, setting up a showdown to see where each is at early in their careers.

It will carry extra motivation for Gibbs, who has gotten to know Robinson through a mutual position coach, Tashard Choice. Choice, in fact, worked with both players in college. Gibbs wants to prove himself as the better of the two backs.

"Yeah, of course," Gibbs said. "I'm always motivated to be the best player I can be."

In two games, the rookie has carried the ball 14 times for 59 yards, while catching nine passes for 57 yards. Dan Campbell expects that the Lions won't deviate from their run-oriented style if Montgomery doesn't play. So, Gibbs will likely get a higher share of touches.

"To us, we're gonna treat it as business as usual. We don't, we're not gonna let it affect us," Campbell said. "We feel good about the backs we have, certainly Gibbs is gonna get more of a role. And, we're gonna do what we do. Really, our focus was on how we attack this opponent, more than the backs that we have."

When asked if he believed the rookie was ready for a large role, the coach simply replied, "We'll find out."

NBC Sports' Matthew Berry thinks we might already know.

Berry noted this week that following Montgomery's exit due to injury in Week 2, Gibbs played 71 percent of the snaps, including 100 percent on third and fourth down. He was also in on Detroit's one snap inside the 10-yard line.

Gibbs also had a team-high 26.5 percent target share last week and was targeted on 43 percent of his routes. With Detroit averaging 32.5 RB touches so far this season, Gibbs is in line for a heavy workload assuming Montgomery, who is officially listed as doubtful is indeed out.

Other options in the backfield Sunday will include Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight. Elevated from the practice squad, Knight's role for Sunday remains to be seen.

Berry suspects we'll see more Reynolds than we expect in this one, but Gibbs will be in line for his largest workload of the season.

Indeed, the Lions are hoping Gibbs can help in one specific area: They have struggled to generate explosive plays in the run game through the first two weeks of the NFL season.

Pro Football Focus quantifies a breakaway as a run of 15 or more yards. In the first two games of the 2023 campaign, the Lions have had just four.

Both Montgomery and Gibbs each have recorded two rushes for big gains. Additionally, the team has yet to field an individual 100-yard rusher in either of the two games to start the season.

Heading into Week 3, Johnson believes the team is on the precipice of hitting those plays at a higher rate.

"We are, we're very close, but we're not where we need to be yet. You see the potential when you watch the tape, and I think it's just a matter of time before we start hitting some bigger ones," Johnson said. "I really do. You turn it on, and you can say it's one guy here, there. And you say that every week. But we're very close from not just having these two, three yard gains, but having explosive runs. I think that's what shows up. Normally when you say one guy is off, that's the difference between a three-yard gain and five- or six-yard gain. These are the difference between 12 to 15-yard runs."

The Lions may face a challenge Sunday against a Falcons team that has won their first two games, but Johnson is confident in the rookie.

"Gibby can do anything," Johnson stated. "We'll see what all we ask him to do, but we feel very comfortable with him doing anything that our running backs need to do. ..."

Beyond that, Amon-Ra St. Brown is listed as questionable for Sunday's matchup against the Falcons. But he said on Friday that he's planning to play this week.

St. Brown is dealing with a bone bruise in his toe but feels he can play through it. He went through a similar injury in high school.

"It was sore after the game, I would say really sore, but it's been getting better every day," St. Brown told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. "I'm excited, I'm happy that it's nothing too serious."

St. Brown was a full participant in Friday's practice. He didn't participate on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday.

Receiver Josh Reynolds (groin) is also questionable, but he was a full participant on Friday and is likely to play.

Offensive tackle Taylor Decker (ankle), guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee), safety Kerby Joseph (hip), and defensive back Emmanuel Moseley (knee/hamstring) are all out after they didn't practice this week.

One last note here. ... Per ESPN.com, Jared Goff has one of the highest on-target rates through Week 2. He has produced a quarterback rating of 85 or higher in each of the past nine games and has averaged 19.4 fantasy points per game in that span.