The Lions are the regular season best in the NFL as we head into the playoffs. Fletcher Sharpe hops on the mic to talk about it with Jer. Amik Robertson locked down Justin Jefferson. The Lions defense stepped up in a big way, which is a good sign for the playoffs. The economic impact of playoff games and Downtown Detroit And more!
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Listen in the player below, and scroll down for a complete transcript.
Jer Staes: Hello, and welcome to your Daily Detroit, sharing what to know and where to go in Southeast Michigan! It's Monday, January 6, 2025.
There is a lot of ice on the roads as we are recording this. I kind of slipped and slid my way into TechTown to record this. Joining me on the line is none other than Fletcher Sharpe. How are you doing, wherever you are?
Fletcher Sharpe: It's cold, and I have family in Ohio that are like, "Is it snowing up there?" And I'm like, no, it's not. It's actually just cold.
It's drifting a little bit now, but they've been getting hit with snow for the past day and a half or so. And I wish that if it's going to be about 20 degrees that we get snow as well, because at least you get the full winter experience. Just getting 20 degrees and it being like a gray daze, it sucks.
Jer Staes: So, be careful out there. Do you know who had to bear with that cold weather and ice? The people putting on the Lions jersey for the Spirit of Detroit. If you go down to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center or City Hall, you will see that the iconic statue has the Lions jersey as we are now in the playoffs. It is a thing after last night's 31 to 9 Vikings win, and the Lions will have a bye week. We will have a home playoff game.
Hopefully games, and this is huge news for the city. I went back and looked last year at the people from Visit Detroit estimated that it would have a 20 million dollar economic impact as far as going to the bars, parking, hotels, all that stuff. It's big news for the city. It's big news. It's big news for fans, and it's about to be an exciting time. I mean, I hope we have as many home games as possible, but that's just how I feel about things.
Fletcher Sharpe: Economic impact for the game last night the Vikings spent nearly two million dollars to get extra tickets. Typically teams allocate tickets for the away team, but the Vikings wanted more of their fans there. So, they spent two million dollars on the secondary market to bring up almost 2,000 tickets to Ford Field, which to me doesn't really seem like a smart investment of money. Given that Ford Field’s capacity is 65,000, and the game last night you could not hear anyone, but you could not see any purple. It's not like when Lions fans go to other stadiums like Lambeau Field is half-green half-blue or a candlestick park out in California is half-blue.
It's like the Vikings. We're here, and it's like where are you? We don't see you. We don't hear you, and that was a major point last night as the Lions used a rocking Ford Field to eventually bend the Vikings into submission and cruise through at the end.
Jer: I'll be honest with you. I don't think that the Vikings gave their fans much to cheer about.
I mean, there was definitely some grind it out in the first half, but Sam Donald, you're right. He was like Sam Duck. Donald was throwing ducks everywhere.
Fletcher Sharpe: I say this point, whenever I talk about people bringing up old, they're like, “Oh, the Lions were bad in 2010.” And it's like, all right, who talks about previous seasons during the current season? That's what losers do.
So I know that comes back, people are like, why are you talking about Sam Darnold from before instead of this season? I'm like, very fair point. Up until this year, Sam Darnold had been a not very good quarterback. This year, he had a quality team around him for the first time. He did some things well, but there are some games this year where he would show he's still the Sam Darnold of old. He's a professional pancaker.
When the game is on the line, he's going to make a mistake. And last night he went … was it 19 for 41. I'm not really good at math, but I know it's under 50 percent. I know it's not over 50 percent.
And to make matters worse, his number one target, Justin Jefferson, who is a star. I'm not even going to pretend like he's not a star. He got locked up by Amik Robertson. And I don't mean like, “Oh, there was a save for that one play where there was a delay of game where the whole defense was calling for delay a game and the Vikings snapped the ball.” And Jefferson got open for a big game that ended up being a field goal. That was it.
Justin Jefferson did not contribute really anything else to that game. And he got it because he got locked up by a former high school rival in Amik Robertson. They both grew up an hour apart from each other in Louisiana.
And, yeah, you take away Sam Darnold's first option. He's not going to go anywhere else. And he showed that yesterday was just his inability to get out of his own way. He held onto the ball too much. He took hits. And honestly, the Lions’ defense is kind of malign. They played great, but a quarterback is going to hold onto the ball forever plays into that fact, because now, if your pass rush isn't getting there, if he's going to keep holding onto the ball, now you can keep rushing at him. And now your defensive backs can move around and if they lose a guy, they get a chance to maybe get back and get back in place to make some plays. So while they didn't force a turnover at all, they made his life terrible.
I think it was a career, a season high, 15 rushes, 15 pressures on Sam Darnold from the Lions, which means he was not throwing the ball with his feet set. He was throwing the ball running for his life.
I love that you gave Amik some shine because he definitely deserves it, like it's a big deal with him stepping up. I think Anzalone did a great job coming back from that injury doing the best that he could, but this was the Jahmyr Gibbs show.
Oh, for sure. I want to mention Anzalone before we get to Gibbs, to show how different the defense is with and without him. He's playing again with like one and a half arms. His other arm is in a cast. While he can still move it, it's not the best way, and he was flying around. He made T.J. Hockenson not want to come back to Ford Field ever again, and he was on him the entire game. I remember … There's one play where TJ. Hockenson actually made a play. He caught a ball like a first positive play in a while. He went to flip the ball to the referee and only just batted the ball away, where he's like I'm not letting you have anything tonight. And that was just a type of night for him.
But to your point, Jahmyr Gibbs’ coming out party for him, if you didn't know about Jahmyr Gibbs before, in the national audience, you definitely know now. He scored the most touchdowns this season by a provisional player with 20, an amazing, fast, dynamic player who people … They always bring it up when they drafted him. It's like news is this is a “bad pick taking a running back at 12.” And I don't know man. It looks pretty great.
Then, I'll admit I wasn't necessarily super high on it, but I've seen Jahmyr Gibbs in college. And I'm like, I'm not gonna tell an Alabama player that they're bad when you draft them unless it's one of their quarterbacks, but I'm not gonna tell a position player from Alabama like this is a bad pick because they're all super talented to go there. And, he's definitely flourished as a player, and people wondered if he could be a number one back by himself and against the number three defense in the NFL. He showed very much that he can do that and then some.
What was the difference in this game, because this was expected to be a shootout?
It was not that the Lions’ defense, although battered, looked really good. Like, although maybe not the best defense in the NFL with the current player set, this is more than serviceable. Like this is a good defense. It's not the best. There's still not Aiden Hutchinson. There's still pieces missing, but that was a good defensive show.
So when Aiden Hutchinson went down, the Lions kind of already blitzed as is with Aaron Glenn. He's not necessarily blitz happy, but he's someone who wants to put pressure on. But without Aiden Hutchinson, who has a high motor, who can do stuff by himself, one man wrecking crew, the Lions turned up the blitzing pressure a lot more.
And if you're going to blitz, you have to play man coverage. If you're going to play man coverage, you have to be sticky. That's kind of why a lot of the pass interference plays and holding calls happened earlier in the year because they were not adjusting to playing sticky and staying on their guy. They figured out a way to make it work. And as a result, you see what happened. They got called for I think four or five holding calls last night in the defensive secondary. Nothing big, no super big pass interference plays because they're doing, not saying that holding is right, but like they're doing it in a way where it's only going to cost you five yards and not going to cost you like 60 or something. And receivers hate that. They hate that.
Receivers are the biggest diva position in the NFL. And they, rightfully so, get big yards. They get down the field and whatever, but like they think that they are God's gift to the sport. And if you put hands on them, most receivers, save for like DK Metcalf or Amon-Ra St. Brown, you put hands on those two, they'll gladly put hands on you back. Like, they don't care. But like most receivers, you put hands on them, the look is to go, “Ref, they're touching me; ref, he's grabbing me; ref, what's happening?!” And Justin Jefferson, as great of a player as he is, you put hands on him, and it's like, “Yeah, I don't want to run this route anymore.” And Amik had him in a lockdown. He had him on 23 hour supervision; you go out for one hour to go play in the yard, and you go back in the cell.
And yes, every other defensive, even Kindle Vildor was playing great and dispelled here on our left or an injury. It showed that they are moving as one beat. And while it's not necessarily the best defense in the NFL, it's probably one of the most cohesive ones right now because everyone is playing their role really well.
You have players who are there literally like Pat O'Connor, who left with an injury. Unfortunately, he was literally just there to cause chaos. He was not there to create sacks. He was not there to make tackles. He was there to get in the way, legally, and then let everyone else get in there and make some plays. And it worked really well against an offense. And honestly, it was kind of humming at that point.
Justin Jefferson was neither hot nor ready for this game.
Yeah, no, he makes it even funnier again. Talented player, but before the game, he was asked, can anyone out there cover you? And he was like, “You know, I don't think so,” before that game, before yesterday's game, put a microphone in his face and he was like, “Anyone out there covering?” He's like, “I don't think so.”
And to his credit, when they played against the Vikings earlier, Amik Robertson, who's playing more in the slot, uh, got beat for a nice catch and play from Darnold to Jefferson for a touchdown. And Jefferson let him know in the end zone before doing his celebrated greedy dance, Amik, when they brought him from the Raiders, he was an outside corner. Like, I know he's not like the tallest.
Typically your outside corners are kind of bigger, stronger. And then your slot ones are the smaller ones. Amik is more built like a slot corner, but he's like Mike James and Lindsey Hunter with the Pistons when they won. He's a pit bull. Like if he gets in your chest, you are not getting rid of him. Only way we’re going to get rid of him is if he chooses to then either fake it, like he got pushed over or you outrun him. But if you are trying to go man for man strength with Amik Robertson built like a fire hydrant, you are not getting him off of you. And once he got his hands on Justin Jefferson, that was it for him.
He spent the rest of the game wondering, instead of looking for the ball, he's wondering, “I gotta get 21 off me. I gotta get 21 off me.” He's not thinking about actually making a play on the ball, actually trying to contribute to the offense. He was thinking about, “I got to get this guy off me before I can turn around.” And meanwhile, he's doing that his quarterback's running for his life, trying to throw the ball to anybody. But Justin Jefferson was probably in like his own ring of hell. He was in a loud stadium that was rooting against him. He didn't get to do any of his touchdown celebrations.
They know they rehearsed. He's getting locked up by a guy who remembers him from high school, who he's been battling since sophomore, junior year. And to make matters worse, when he finally makes a play late, Kindle Vildor comes to punch his ball out of his hands. Like, do you know how bad your life has to be going? The cherry on top is like the worst covered players. It was like, ah, you made a play. No, you did an incomplete, and it was almost a fumble. If he'd taken one more step, that was a fumble. The lines picked up and we're going to return it somewhere deep into Vikings territory. So, he had probably his worst game of the year by far. And I mean, it's not all the way his fault.
Because again, Sam Darnold was running for his life behind the line. But like at some point, I even said at halftime, they're going to start forcing the ball to Justin Jefferson because he is their best receiver. They're going to have to get the ball to him in some capacity. So be ready for it. And they just couldn't do it because they didn't have time to do it. And when he did, they were covered. And again, T.J. Hockenson, people were like, “He used to be a Lion. How did he get to Minnesota?” And it's like, well, he was talented. He was quick. He could block. Well, he just couldn't catch when it mattered.
He could not. And there was a play where Alex Anzalone was clear pass interference. The ball was coming. And he literally smacked him in his chest for sure, smacked him in his chest before the ball got there, but the ball hit both of Hockinson's hands and he still dropped it like if I'm a referee, it's passing it. I'm not rewarding you with the flag for that. Catch the ball. It's one thing if it happens and like you miss. Whatever. But like you literally hit one and then deflected off and … catch the ball, man. You are there to make a play. Stop playing for flags. It felt in the second half that the Lions started playing with more pressure and the Vikings started playing to try to draw flags and do what they could. And referees are not going to reward you if you're playing literally to just get bailed out.
To me, it sounds like, if the Vikings make it back to Ford Field, they are going to be pretty motivated and pretty charged up to try to prove themselves, because this did not look good for Minnesota.
Yeah, I don't anticipate Justin Jefferson leaving Ford Field again with 54 yards, if they come back. I imagine he's gonna get like 20 targets. He might only end up having eight or nine, but he's gonna have at least a hundred yards. Maybe a touchdown.
There's no way that they're going to just let this stand. He was in such a sour mood. He left the field without shaking anyone's hands. He just put his towel over his head and walked away. So, I know that's gonna burn in his memory for sure. And honestly, that's a little scary, because again, he is a really talented receiver. I've seen him make some plays that, save for like Calvin Johnson or someone who is just built differently, I did not expect to see him make, but, right now, they don't have to worry about that. They just get to rest. And especially with Terrion Arnold picking up an injury during the game, which looked not great. Kevin Zeitler on the line, pulling up the lane with his leg. Pat O'Connell left the game for a moment, and did not return.
You have some players who maybe get an extra week to rest is great. They mentioned the Lions bye week was in week five, which meant they've been playing for three straight months. Every week they've had a game for almost three months. So having an extra week off to just rest and train up and do what you need to do is great.
My only worry about that is kind of like you saw the college football playoffs. Every team that had a bye when they played their first game, they came out flat and got smoked. And like, it would be a real shame if that were to happen because the Lions currently have something that's never been said before. Maybe it's been said by someone's tipsy uncle in their basement, but never out loud.
The Lions are the number one team in the NFL currently. When you look at the standings, they are at the top. When they go, if they're going to draft right now, the Lions would have the last pick in the first round. Like of course now that goes to a Super Bowl winner. But like, if you're going strictly based off of records, the Lions have the best record in the NFL, which has never happened at the end of the season. It's very odd to be saying this out loud.
I feel like it's a fever dream, but like the Lions are the best team in the NFL.
And they have one of the best point differences in the NFL as well, which is again, given the fact that point difference means your offense is scoring, your defense is stopping people, the defense being built with its built, and they're still out there scoring points like that and finding ways to win. It's, wow. It's rarefied air. It feels like I'm still underselling it with how it feels currently.
If you support this team and have supported this team for so long, if Dan Campbell does not win Coach of the Year, I don't know what else he has to do. I would have thought he would have won it last year, but okay, that's fine. But if he doesn't win it this year for what he's done with this team and him and his coaching staff and the deficiencies they've had and the way they've just kind of pushed through, I don't know what he's got to do to do it at this point.
If he's got to pay someone, okay, fine. But he coached his butt off and three, four years ago when they signed him, this is not what I saw he'd be doing at all.
I thought he'd be coaching as someone's defensive coordinator or like a linebackers coach, but he's taken one of the teams that notoriously has an issue finishing games and somehow instilled in them that they have to finish these games and they've been finishing these games to a plumb. And it's … I don't really have the words for it right now.
So, it's not really worth speculating who we're going to face, what's going to happen in two weeks, because honestly, we don't know with how the NFL playoffs work, right Fletcher?
It's a bit different than, say, like college football playoffs or the NBA playoffs, where they reseed after the first after the first five weeks. So the Lions could play anywhere between the number four seed Rams or the number seven seed Packers, so they could play the Rams, the Vikings, the commanders or the Packers. And they haven't played the commanders yet this year, but they've beaten the other three teams, two of them twice. So. You know, it's really a big wash and who they could play, but it really will make it exciting for Lions fans to have a nice weekend to watch football that does not include being stressed out about their team.
And they can just say, oh, we'll see who we play next. We could do this or this. Personally, I think I'd rather play the Packers or the Commanders because the Packers, they just look defeated and the Commanders are whoever. But it'll be a nice weekend to watch some football and then, you know, speculate after that.
Well, we're going to leave it there. Fletcher Sharpe, so good to talk to you.
Of course! Thanks for having me.
With that, I'm Jer Staes. Thank you so much for listening! Thank you to our members on Patreon, patreon.com/dailydetroit, because local media needs local support to survive. Remember that you are somebody, and we'll talk tomorrow.
