- Bad news :Amon-Ra St. Brown Announce his leaving Detroit Lionstoday before is late…..
The Detroit Lions will be walking into a hostile environment Saturday night, when they enter AT&T Stadium to take on the Dallas Cowboys.
In order for the Lions to knock off the Cowboys, which have won 15 straight games at home, they’ll need their top playmakers – on both sides of the ball – to bring their “A games.”
This includes Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is coming off a huge, 12-catch, 106-yard performance in Week 16 against the Minnesota Vikings.
A year ago against Dallas, the third-year pro logged just 10 snaps before exiting the game with concussion-related symptoms. He caught just one ball for four yards in the aforementioned early-season matchup.
“Last year was kind of unfortunate what happened, but I’m excited to go out and play,” St. Brown said of facing the Cowboys in Week 17. “I only was able to play like, I don’t know, barely two drives that game. So, I’m just excited to be back out there with the guys, primetime, against a good team this late in the season, actually with a team that hasn’t lost at home. It’s going to be fun.”
St. Brown, in 14 games this season, has already set career-high marks in receiving yards (1,281) and touchdowns (eight). He’s also accumulated the same amount of catches (106) – on the same number of targets (146) – as he did in 16 games last season.
On Saturday, the No. 1 Lions wideout will have his hands full going head-to-head with Dallas cornerback DaRon Bland.
Bland, a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2022, is in the midst of a career-best season.
In 15 games this year, the second-year pro has amassed an NFL-high eight interceptions. And, he’s returned five of those picks for touchdowns – an NFL single-season record for interceptions returned for scores.
Additionally, in 523 pass coverage snaps this season, the Fresno State product has allowed a passer rating against of just 46.5.
He’s also earned the third-highest Pro Football Focus coverage grade among all corners (88.6). And, along with that, he’s earned an overall mark of 89.9 from PFF, which ranks second at his position. The Bears’ Jaylon Johnson is presently PFF’s highest-graded cornerback at 90.8.
Undoubtedly, Bland – who has played a pivotal role in Dallas limiting opponents to the fifth-fewest passing yards in the league (2,760) – has brought a tremendous amount of value to the Cowboys’ defense in 2023.
In fact, on Dallas’ roster, only EDGE defenders Micah Parsons (92.7) and DeMarcus Lawrence (91.2) have better PFF grades.
St. Brown understands it won’t be easy squaring off with the opportunistic defensive back.
“He (Bland) knows when to take chances, so, for us as receivers, we’re going to have to be aware of that,” the Pro Bowl receiver told reporters earlier this week.
In this highly-anticipated Week 17 matchup, I don’t see either St. Brown or Bland dominating the other. I believe that St. Brown finishes the primetime tilt touchdown-less and with eight catches for 72 yards.
