USC's Amon-Ra St. Brown Reaches Historic Milestone In Thrilling Overtime Win

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Former USC Trojans All-Pac-12 wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was dominant in an overtime thriller that saw the Detroit Lions overcome a valiant effort by the New York Giants. While his teammate, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, had a historic day, St. Brown also made NFL and franchise history with his nine receptions, 149 yards, and one touchdown day.
The Trojans legend has now reached 500 career receptions in only 77 career games. This feat marked the second-fewest games needed to accumulate 500 receptions in NFL history. A remarkable, inconceivable milestone for the former fourth-round draft pick from USC. Only former All-Pro wide receiver Michael Thomas did it faster than St. Brown.

That wasn’t the only major milestone St. Brown reached in the overtime victory. He also became the all-time Lions’ leader for the most 100-yard receiving games (22) through five-career seasons in franchise history. Not even the incomparable Hall of Famer Calvin “Megatron” Johnson was able to reach this mark as fast. It's a testament to his natural ability, but also the hard hours put in over the years to achieve this level of consistency.
"Honestly, I'll just fall back on my training," St. Brown explained in an interview earlier in the week. "I try to put the most pressure on myself during training, so when I'm out there on the field, I've done it so many times that I'm not even thinking about the pressure. I'm calm, and now it's time to perform."
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Although it was a joyous day in the end, St. Brown faced his own battle with a couple of uncustomary drops. How did he recover to have a record-breaking performance? He leaned on the advice he was taught back in Los Angeles as a USC Trojan from former NFL wide receiver and USC great turned coach, Keary Colbert, who was his position coach in college.
“I don’t stress too much about those. I move on to the next play. I keep going. Coach [Colbert] once told me, “So what, now what?” when I was in college. Coach Keary Colbert. I kind of live by that. You can’t get hung up because there are highs and lows throughout the game, so for me it’s just next play,” St. Brown said post-game.

St. Brown currently sits at second in the NFL with nine receiving touchdowns, fourth in the NFL with 884 receiving yards, and fifth in the NFL with 75 receptions. Barring an unforeseen setback, St. Brown is on track to receive his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl and third consecutive All-Pro honor.
Who would have thought the fourth-round pick drafted to one of the historical doormats of the NFL would blossom into one of the best wide receivers of all time to start a career and a top two receiver in franchise history?

Amon-Ra St. Brown, that’s who.
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Kyron Samuels is a former college and professional football player now a writer, analyst, & digital host. Kyron is a writer for USC Trojans on SI and contributes to Oregon Ducks on SI. A graduate and letterman at Jacksonville State University, Samuels was a three-year starter, two-time all-conference, and won three consecutive conference titles. After a four-year professional stint between the AFL & XFL, Samuels retired from football. In 2022, Samuels was inducted into the Fairhope Athletic Hall of Fame. Post-playing career, Samuels has become a credentialed sports media member covering the NFL, UFL, USFL, & college football. The NFL Combine, Reese’s Senior Bowl, & East-West Shrine Bowl are amongst the events Kyron has covered. As a guest and host, Samuels has been featured on ESPNRadio, FoxSportsRadio, & IHeartRadio. Outside of sports media, Samuels works as a scouting consultant and has experience coaching at the collegiate level.
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