Amon-Ra St. Brown did not sound like a guy in doubt. Hours before the Detroit Lions kicked off against the Dallas Cowboys, the wide receiver told the Amazon broadcast crew he knew on Wednesday he would play, even after a week without practice. He ran routes, tested his injured ankle, felt he could cut, and basically made up his mind. Teammate Jahmyr Gibbs took one look at him, gutting it out, and called him “Wolverine.”
The medical report painted a different picture. St. Brown suffered a low left ankle sprain in the Thanksgiving loss to the Green Bay Packers and played only four snaps in that game. Doctors initially expected him to miss one or two weeks, and the Lions listed him as questionable after he sat out practices from Monday through Wednesday.
Instead, he suited up in a must-win spot, and looked like his usual problem. Amon-Ra St. Brown finished with six catches for 92 yards on nine targets in Detroit’s 44-30 win, repeatedly bailing out Jared Goff on intermediate routes and keeping drives alive as the Lions matched Dak Prescott punch for punch.
This was not just a “tough it out for the boys” game, either. St. Brown came in as Detroit’s leading receiver with 75 catches for 884 yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games, according to ESPN. The Lions are fighting for their playoff lives, and every route he runs changes how defenses play Gibbs, David Montgomery, and Jameson Williams.
You could see it against Dallas. When St. Brown lined up in the slot, the Cowboys shaded coverage his way and opened grass for crossers and screens. When he shifted outside, the safety cheated over the top, and Gibbs punished light boxes with three rushing touchdowns.
So, when did Amon-Ra St. Brown know he would play? Officially, sometime after pregame warmups. In his mind, it sounded like the decision came a day earlier.
