Amon-Ra St. Brown: 'You Can’t Double Everyone' in Lions' Passing Game
In just his third NFL season, Amon-Ra St. Brown has become one of the most reliable receivers in the NFL.
In 11 games this year, the USC product has already amassed north of 1,000 receiving yards (1,042) for a second consecutive season. He’s done this while hauling in 73 percent of his targets from Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Plus, he’s presently gaining a career-best 12.4 yards per reception.
Defenses have certainly taken notice of St. Brown’s receiving prowess, and have started to double-team the 2021 fourth-round pick more and more often.
With defenses focusing as much attention as they have on St. Brown, though, it’s opened up other receivers in Detroit’s potent passing attack. And, as the third-year pro alluded to Thursday, it’s helped create an advantageous situation for the Lions, which feature multiple play-making pass-catchers.
“I think it’s awesome when you have a bunch of guys in an offense that can make plays that are dynamic,” St. Brown told reporters. “It really just makes it hard on the defense to cover everyone, gives guys more one-on-one opportunities. You can’t double everyone. If you try to double someone, it’s going to open up other guys. So, it’s nice just to have a bunch of playmakers like you said – ‘Jamo’ (Jameson Williams), me, whoever it is, (Sam) LaPorta, Jahmyr (Gibbs), David (Montgomery), ‘Lif (Kalif Raymond), Josh (Reynolds), whoever it is – that can win one-on-one. I mean, it’s awesome to have. It’s like you pick your poison as a defense, (and) we’re going to try to just go the other way.”
Just a week ago against the Saints, Sam LaPorta was the biggest beneficiary of the extra attention that St. Brown received. The rookie tight end made the most of his one-on-one opportunities, and finished the Week 13 contest with a career-best nine catches and 140 yards. He also hauled in a touchdown, and didn’t drop a single pass from Goff.
St. Brown, meanwhile, was limited to a season-low two catches – albeit one being for a touchdown – on six targets. Yet, Ben Johnson’s offense, as evidenced above, still found a way to be productive. In fact, it produced 347 total yards in the 33-28 win in New Orleans.
“Yeah, I think he’s been targeted quite a bit, almost every game. Even last week, he was primary on quite a few things. We didn’t connect on a few that we really want back, I think. But, I’ve got no doubt that he’s going to come out and be the same productive player that he’s always been,” Johnson said of St. Brown. “They double him in situations, and that’s when the other guys have to feast. But, when Sam LaPorta or I think Kalif Raymond had a big game a couple of weeks ago, when these other guys make plays, it makes defenses think twice about trying to take out No. 14.”
Next up for St. Brown and the Lions is the final game of their season series with the Chicago Bears. The two teams last faced off in Week 11 at Ford Field, with Detroit prevailing in miraculous fashion.
In the aforementioned NFC North divisional matchup, the Lions trailed by 12 points, 26-14, with under 4:00 to play. Dan Campbell’s team then went on to score 17 unanswered points to win the game.
Goff threw three interceptions in the near-loss, and Detroit turned the football over a total of four times.
St. Brown understands that it will be very tough to beat the Bears a second time – especially in a similar, come-from-behind fashion – if the Lions are as careless with the ball.
“We gotta try not to give them any freebies like we did last time, because if we do, I don’t think we’ll be able to come back like we did last time,” St. Brown expressed. “It was a tough game for us. We barely did it, but it’s hard to do that twice in this league. So, we’ve got to take care of the ball, definitely.”
