The Detroit Lions are one of the best teams in the NFL. Their record shows it, and more importantly, so does their play on the field.

The Lions won their third straight game by double digits Sunday, destroying the winless Carolina Panthers, 42-24, at Ford Field.

David Montgomery had his second straight 100-yard rushing day, Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes and snuck in for a score, and the Lions forced three first-half turnovers they turned into 21 points.

The Lions (4-1) sit alone in first place in the NFC North and off to their best start since going 5-0 to start the 2011 season. They made the playoffs that year, but did not win the division and lost a wild-card game against the New Orleans Saints.

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The Lions play the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) next week and look like legitimate contenders for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Bucs had a bye this week.

On Sunday, they dominated all facets of the game, scoring touchdowns on four of their first five drives to build a commanding 28-10 halftime lead.

Montgomery, the hero of last week’s win over the Green Bay Packers with 32 carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns, opened the scoring Sunday with a 42-yard touchdown run on the Lions’ third offensive play.

Aidan Hutchinson intercepted a Bryce Young pass on Carolina’s next possession to set up Goff’s first touchdown pass, 4 yards to Sam LaPorta, and Alim McNeill forced a fumble and Jerry Jacobs had an interception that led to second-quarter scores.

Goff, who completed 20 of 28 passes for 236 yards, capped a 10-play, 38-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds after Will Harris recovered Carolina’s fumble.

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Jacobs intercepted Young on the Panthers’ next play – the second straight Carolina drive that lasted one play – and Goff found LaPorta wide open on a reverse flea flicker for his second touchdown.

Goff started the play with a toss to Montgomery, who handed the ball to Kalif Raymond, who flipped it back to Goff as LaPorta slipped away from his block at the line of scrimmage and into the Panthers secondary.

The Lions failed to score an offensive touchdown in the third quarter for the fourth time in five games, but Goff (on a 1-yard QB sneak) and Craig Reynolds (on a 5-yard run) scored in the fourth quarter.

Montgomery finished with 19 carries for 109 yards and the Lions ran for 159 yards as a team on a day they played without leading receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs because of injuries. St. Brown suffered an abdominal injury against the Packers, and Gibbs pulled a hamstring in practice Friday.

Even without two of their top offensive weapons, the Lions scored a season-high in points and averaged 6.3 yards per play.

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Lions second-year receiver Jameson Williams caught two passes for 2 yards and played 27 snaps in his season debut after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy. He dropped a pass in the middle of the field in the first half.

Young was 25 of 41 for 247 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, and Adam Thielen had 11 catches for 107 yards for the Panthers, who remain the only NFL team without a win at 0-5.

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

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions maul Carolina Panthers for convincing 42-24 win