Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery had one of the most productive games of his career Sunday in his return from rib injuries.

He scored on a 75-yard run that came at a crucial time in the game, one play after the Los Angeles Chargers had pulled within a touchdown late in the first half. He converted a fourth-and-5 with a 6-yard run up the middle. He finished with 116 yards on 12 carries, his third 100-yard rushing game of the season.

But Montgomery said the "most important" play he made all day was one that didn't show up in the box score — a run fake he executed on Jared Goff's 25-yard touchdown pass to Brock Wright in the fourth quarter.

"That was my biggest play of the day, being able to carry out the fake," Montgomery said after the game. "Cause we talked the whole week, (running backs coach) Scottie (Montgomery) was letting us know like, 'You got to carry out the fake, got to carry out the fake, or the play won’t work.' And I told myself if I don’t carry out this fake, I'm going to be mad at myself. I might put myself in timeout."

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Wright's touchdown was one of several significant plays the Lions needed to close out their 41-38 shootout victory, and another example of Ben Johnson defying conventional wisdom and trusting the supporting players on his roster to deliver in key moments.

Last year, the Lions closed out a win over the Minnesota Vikings with a third-and-7 pass to right tackle Penei Sewell and beat the New York Jets on a 51-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Wright, and Sunday they opened their game-winning scoring drive with a 41-yard pass to Kalif Raymond.

Before that play, with the game tied at 31 midway through the fourth quarter and the Lions facing a third-and-1 at the Chargers' 25-yard line, Johnson again turned to Wright, the Lions' blocking tight end who had seven catches in the season's first eight games.

The Lions lined up in a heavy run formation with tight ends Wright and Sam LaPorta attached to the right side of the line, receiver Antoine Green split tight to the left and Montgomery and linebacker-turned-fullback Malcolm Rodriguez in the backfield in an offset I formation.

Goff, who took the snap from under center Frank Ragnow, said he had a run or pass option on the play, based on what he saw from the Chargers' defense.

The Chargers stuffed all 11 defenders within 7 yards of scrimmage. They lined seven players along the defensive front, with defensive end Nick Bosa playing as a stand-up rusher over Green and cornerback Deane Leonard bracketing Green on the outside, and kept safeties Derwin James and Alohi Gilman and linebacker Kenneth Murray near the 20-yard line in the middle of the field with eyes on the ball.

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"It was a run play and check to what defense they gave us to give us that look and it was a one-man show and get a good run fake and he kind of runs by the guy who’s got him in man and he made a great catch and finished it," Goff said.

Goff took the snap with 7:36 on the clock and extended the ball in his right hand towards Montgomery's belly.

Montgomery ducked his head as he came even with Goff in the backfield and barreled towards the line, sucking James, Gilman and Murray in to play the run.

Wright, who lined up next to Sewell, with LaPorta on his outside hip, hit Chargers defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day as part of a double-team block before slipping past L.A.'s unsuspecting second line of defense.

Murray, James and Gilman were near the 23-yard line — the Lions needed to get to the 24 for a first down — when they realized Goff had the ball on a run fake, and Gilman reached for Wright's waist as Wright ran a pop pass just inside the left hash.

Goff threw a perfect pass over the outstretched left arm of a retreating James and Wright caught the ball in stride at the 9-yard line and ran to the end zone.

"It was a great play and Brock, if anybody deserves it, it’s him and I’m so happy that he was able to come down with that ball," Montgomery said. "It was a clutch time and he scored so it was a big play for us and I was just happy that he was able to get that."

Montgomery said he was "just trying to roll over the ball" on his fake, "trying to sell me getting the ball as much as possible and it worked."

The Lions had 203 yards rushing at that point in the game, an effort Goff said allowed the run fake to work. And it helped that the Lions had a heavy run tendency on 1-yard-to-go plays, running on six of eight situations earlier in the game.

"Absolutely it (did)," Goff said. "And that was a play that we kind of were ready to call or Ben was ready to call in that third-and-1/fourth-and-1 range because we were running the ball so well and they had to lean on it a little bit, they had to lean on it and it was kind of the perfect timing for it."

As for Wright, who now has seven touchdowns among his 39 career receptions in 2½ seasons, Lions coach Dan Campbell said he's "as reliable as they get" and that's why the Lions trust him in those situations.

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"Sometimes he just flies under the radar because he does all the dirty work nobody ever really sees, but man, he showed up in the run game (Sunday)," Campbell said. "He had a couple protections on the back side we had talked about. You mention to him, ‘Hey, if they just happen to bring this, you need to stay in and block it,’ and he did that. He didn’t miss a beat, and you only have to tell him something once.

"And then, man, here’s your one opportunity, right, on the pop pass and the worse thing that could happen, this defender kind of loops out, he was able to maneuver through it, set his angle and man, he’s just a steady, reliable piece for us. There’s a lot of trust. I can tell you between the coaches and his teammates, there’s a tremendous amount of trust with that player. They know he’s going to do his job.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions film review: Breaking down Brock Wright's touchdown