Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs has had seven rushing attempts in each of his first two NFL games with the Detroit Lions. He could be carrying a heavier load when the Lions play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

During Detroit’s 37-31 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Lions running back David Montgomery left the game with 2:16 remaining in the third quarter after a 7-yard run and did not return.

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After the game, Detroit coach Dan Campbell said Montgomery had a thigh bruise, and on Monday, he said the running back “was a little bit in that boat of day-to-day.”

Montgomery ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries in the first two games this season.

“Golly, I thought (Montgomery) played outstanding,” Campbell said on Monday. “He is such a versatile back. He’s explosive. And talk about being reliable — he’s very reliable. But it’s just that fumble leaves a bad taste in your mouth, which we’ll get cleaned up. He will, too. He takes that stuff personal. But he’s been big for us. He’s a big piece of what we are and what we have offensively. He really is. …

“With that, I still see it being by committee if D-Mo can’t go. But certainly Gibbs is going to get more opportunities. He got a little bit more, and there’s some plays he made and there’s a lot he left out, and some of that’s part of being a rookie. He’ll get better from those the more exposure he gets. And we need him to grow, and he will.”

After Montgomery left Sunday’s game, Gibbs gained 17 yards on five rushing attempts and 13 yards on two receptions. Craig Reynolds moved up to No. 2 running back and ran for 7 yards on three carries and caught a pass that lost 2 yards.

Gibbs joined the Lions from Alabama as the 12th selection in the NFL Draft on April 27 as Detroit overhauled its backfield in the offseason.

In March, the Lions lost running back Jamaal Williams in free agency to the New Orleans Saints after he led the NFL with 17 touchdown runs in 2022. Williams ran for 1,066 yards on 262 carries and caught 12 passes for 73 yards last season.

Detroit traded running back D’Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles after drafting Gibbs. Swift had 542 yards and five touchdowns on 99 rushing attempts and 389 yards and three touchdowns on 48 receptions in 2022.

The Lions had picked up Montgomery in free agency in March. A former 1,000-yard rusher, Montgomery had 801 yards and five touchdowns on 201 rushing attempts and 316 yards and one touchdown on 34 receptions for the Chicago Bears in 2022.

In his first two NFL games, Gibbs gained 59 yards on 14 rushing attempts and 57 yards on nine receptions.

Detroit opened the season by upending the Kansas City Chiefs 21-20 on Sept. 7 before the setback against Seattle. The Lions overcame a 10-point deficit with a touchdown with 3:08 left in the fourth quarter and a field goal on the final snap of the period to send the game into overtime. But in the extra session, Detroit never got the football as the Seahawks drove 75 yards in nine plays for a game-winning and -ending touchdown.

“That one hurt,” Gibbs said. “That one stung a little bit, but you just got to keep your head up. It’s a long season. We’ll be straight.”

The Lions and Falcons square off at noon CDT Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit. Atlanta has a 2-0 record after beating the Carolina Panthers 24-10 and Green Bay Packers 25-24.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.