Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown defies slow start

ALLEN PARK – Three catches. 16 yards. In his first game since signing a $120 million contract.

Some recipients would sulk.

Amon-Ra St. Brown? He fought off his backside and helped push the pile to the goal line in overtime. One play later, the Detroit Lions beat the Los Angeles Rams 26-20, and St. Brown has been smiling ever since, despite an uncharacteristic day on the scoresheet.

“A win is a win,” St. Brown said. “The win is the most important thing for us to get where we need to be. Obviously you'd like to have catches and stuff, but we found a way to win overall. There are a lot of areas all over the offense that need to be improved. We know that week one is probably the toughest week for an offense, just getting everything down. It was a tough game. But a win is a win.”

St. Brown had the best season by a Lions receiver since Calvin Johnson, catching 119 passes for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was also the team's leading receiving and total yards player during the playoffs leading up to the NFC Championship Game and was named to the first team All-Pro for his efforts. He eventually signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension that cemented his place as the cornerstone of one of the league's strongest teams.

The offense still runs through St. Brown, even though the Rams knew that and played him all they could on opening night. St. Brown faced a number of exotic defenses designed to slow him down, including double coverage, so he helped the team in other ways, such as intercepting a pass in the fourth quarter that went into the waiting arms of a Rams defender. If that ball had been intercepted, Detroit may never have made it to overtime.

The coaches were pleased with St. Brown's play, noting only that the ball was going elsewhere due to coverage.

“He just wants to win,” offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “I've known some guys in the past, especially at that position, that when they had a game that didn't live up to their expectations, they could sulk and do this, that or the other. But I don't know if anyone had a bigger smile on their face right after the game than he did. That's what comes with wearing the 'C' on your chest, and he's a great example of what we expect from everyone on offense.”

Detroit also had high hopes for Jameson Williams, the young speedster who made a splash with five catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. It was a career day for Jamo, who gives defenses another challenge to think about in the coming weeks, including Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

St. Brown sounded like a proud father thinking of Jamo after practice on Thursday.

“I've been telling everyone he's going to have a game-changing game, I just don't know when it's going to be,” St. Brown said. “And sure enough, it was Week 1. For him to do that and keep doing that is only going to help us offensively. Everyone talks about our receivers and whether we have enough depth. I mean, if Jamo does that and we all buy in, it's going to be a great year for us.”

While St. Brown is coming to terms with not being in the spotlight for a night, you can bet he'll be running out of the tunnel on Sunday to get his. His three-catch, 16-yard performance was his worst game since an injury limited him to one catch for 3 yards against Dallas on Oct. 23, 2022.

“I'm excited,” St. Brown said. “I'm ready. I think we've played Tampa three times in less than a calendar year, which is crazy. We know them, they know us, it's going to be a good battle. They have a good defense, that's always the case.”

In two games against this outstanding defense last year, St. Brown had 20 catches, 201 yards and two touchdowns. Detroit won both games.

• BETS: Read our guide to best sports betting sites in Michiganwhere our team of sports betting experts reviewed the experience, payout speed, parlay options and quality of odds for several sportsbooks. After their victory on Sunday evening, the Lions open as Almost touchdown favorite about the Buccaneers.