Tag: Kerby Joseph

Lions Kerby Joseph now highest paid safety in NFL history

His 4-year, $86 milion extension locks him up through 2029

ALLEN PARK — Kerby Joseph’s smile was brighter than the bling he was wearing on Thursday night. Perhaps it was because the ink was still drying on the 4-year, $85 million contract extension.

The deal makes him the highest paid safety in NFL history.

“To see this happen is amazing,’’ Joseph said.

Joseph, the Lions third-round draft pick in 2022,  finished the 2024 season with a career and league-leading nine interceptions. The 24-year-old has more picks than anyone in the NFL since he entered the league in 2022.

“It’s everything to me. I feel like it strives toward my goal of one day putting on a gold jacket so I feel this is a huge step, huge, huge milestone in my career and in my life,’’ Joseph said. “… I feel so blessed.’’

While he’s thrilled with the money he said that is not what motivates him.

“I really play this game because I love it,’’ Joseph said.  “I have a certain passion for the game.’’

Lions play their best aggressive football in 52-6 win over Jaguars

5 reasons why win streak extended to 8 games

It wasn’t just a win, it wasn’t just a shellacking, it was likely the best game the Detorit Lions have played in the Dan Campbell era.

The Lions (9-1) dominated the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars, 52-6, at Ford Field on Sunday for the Lions’ eighth straight win. It’s the best start to a season since 1934 and longest win streak since that same year.

In Sunday’s win the Lions set franchise records with margin of win (plus-46 points), total net yards (645) and total first downs (38).

Campbell said it was their best game to date and then gave in when asked if it was the best game he’s seen his Lions play.

“Probably top to bottom this is probably the best game — offense, defense, special teams —  everything, it was pretty good, man,’’ Campbell said. “We did what we needed to do on both sides of the ball.’’

The Lions were coming off a win at Houston where the offense faltered. “We were proud of that win last week that was hard fought, but we also wanted to get that bad taste out of our mouth and we did that today,’’ Campbell said. “It’s outstanding.’’

They flicked the switch and Goff and his guys came out and scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions.

“There’s a collective will power they can use together. I really felt like we pulled on each other today and played some of our best ball up to date,’’ Campbell said. “That was satisfying always to get a win in this league because they’re hard to come by but when you play up to your potential in all areas it’s a really good feeling.’’

It’s a talent-rich offense and it showed once again on Sunday. Goff connected with nine different pass catchers and the offense finished with 645 total net yards. Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery and Amon-Ra St. Brown all scored a touchdown in the same game for the eighth time. That is the most instances of a trio of teammates doing so in NFL history.

The Lions  have scored six-plus touchdowns in three-straight home games for the first time in franchise history. And they have also scored 42-plus points in three-straight home games, tying the franchise record-long streak, which was done in 1952. The franchise records crumble each week. And these Lions are not done yet.

Five reasons the Lions won:

ONE: They are a confident, talented team that plays with a violent, aggressive streak on both sides of the ball. They were heavy favorites and weren’t going to let the opportunity for their ninth win slip by. “It was an outstanding effort by a ton of players,’’ Campbell said. The offensive play stood out. “It’s fun, we were moving the ball pretty good. Our run game was pretty good, our pass game obviously pretty good too,’’ Goff said. “Everything was working. It felt like Ben (Johnson, the offensive coordinator) could call anything and we would make it work.’’

TWO: Goff was taken out early in the fourth quarter when the Lions held a 49-6 lead. He finished with a perfect passer rating (158.3) for just the second time in his career. He completed 24 of 29 passes for 412 yards and four touchdowns. It was an amazing comeback from last week at Houston when nothing seemed to go right for him and he threw five interceptions. “I thought Goff was outstanding once again. I’m not surprised, that’s the type of player we have, that’s the type of football he’s been playing for a while now,’’ Campbell said. “He’s a stud.’’

THREE: Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, or Sonic and Knuckles as they like to be called, can also be called the best running back duo in the NFL today. It’s impossible to rate one above the other. Both display jaw-dropping moves with the football in hand. Montgomery had two rushing touchdowns while Gibbs added another. Both can also be a threat in the passing game. Gibbs had a 54-yard passing play (on a checkdown) to go with his 69 rushing yards. Montgomery had 3 catches for 20 yards along with 75 rushing yards. 

FOUR: Oh, and the Lions have the best safety duo in the NFL with Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Never was that more apparent than in back-to-back plays in the first quarter when Branch bulldozed Evan Engram after a 9-yard catch and then Joseph blasted Travis Etienne Jr. for no gain. Joseph intercepted Mac Jones in the third quarter with the Jaguars closing in on perhaps scoring a touchdown. Detroit’s defense held the Jags to just 170 yards, 10 first downs and two field goals.

FIVE: Wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams played outstanding against the NFL’s worst defense. St. Brown had 11 catches for 161 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Williams had 4 catches for 124 yards, including a 64-yard pass play for a touchdown where he just outran his defenders as he neared the end zone. Campbell called St. Brown their rock – he can line up anywhere and is dependable. It was Williams second game back after a suspension, he had critical catches and continues to improve each week.

INJURY UPDATE: LB Alex Anzalone is out for 6-8 weeks with a broken forearm. He left the game in the second quarter holding his arm.

UP NEXT: The Lions (9-1) at the Indianapolis Colts (5-6), 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24.

Five reasons the Lions romped over the Cowboys, 47-9; Aidan Hutchinson update

When does a dominating win by the Detroit Lions feel a little like a loss? When Aidan Hutchinson, the heart of the defense, goes down in the third quarter with a broken tibia.

Still the Lions kept punishing the Cowboys and high-tailed it out of Dallas with a 47-9 win on Sunday. 

“I thought we played the most complete game we’ve played here in a long time, if not the most since we’ve been here,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “I thought all phases stepped up particularly offensively and defensively, we applied pressure, we finally got a multiple take away game. They come in bunches.’’

Campbell said Hutchinson underwent immediate surgery and was staying in a Dallas hospital overnight. He said they’ll know more Monday, but obviously he’ll be down for a while.

“These are hard moments, that’s hard for everybody,’’ Campbell told reporters afterward.  The team surrounded Hutchinson on the field after he went down before he was hauled away on a cart

Still the team stayed strong without Hutchinson.           

The Lions are now 4-1 and face the division rival undefeated Vikings (5-0) next week at Minnesota. Detroit has now started at least 4-1 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1970-71.

With a bye week coming up, the Cowboys (3-3), who were coming off two straight wins, will look to heal their wounds and regroup. They have lost all three home games so far this season.

It was total domination from the get-go for the Lions who were rested and ready after their bye week.

“I expected us to come in and play well. It’s the tightest I felt about our crew and we answered,’’ Campbell said.

Five of the main reasons the Lions won:

ONE: Quarterback Jared Goff was well Jared Goff, finding guys downfield for chunk plays – a 42-yard pass to Tim Patrick, a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams, a 52-yard flea-flicker TD pass to Sam LaPorta and a 38-yard pass to Kalif Raymond. Goff completed 18 of 25 attempts for 315 yards and threw three touchdowns. He is one of only three QBs in Lions’ history who have thrown three 50-yard plus passes within the first five games of a season. He’s right there with Greg Landry and Earl Morral.

TWO: The Cowboys’ defense had no clue about how to stop the Lions on the ground. The Lions rushed for 184 yards. David Montgomery, who is like a freight train pushing down the field, finished with a pair of touchdowns and 80 rushing yards. Jahmyr Gibbs found success too with a dozen runs for 63 yards. The offensive line gave Goff plenty of time to throw and the running backs room to run. 

THREE: The Cowboys could not get much going offensively thanks to Detroit’s stingy defense. Dak Prescott, the NFL’s highest paid player, just didn’t look like it. He completed 17 of 33 passes for 178 yards and threw two picks. The Cowboys had just 3 points on their first six possessions. They never scored a touchdown even with Hutchinson out of the game. It didn’t help that they turned the ball over five times – three interceptions (a late one by Cooper Rush)  and two fumbles lost. Entering the game, the Cowboys owned the NFL’s second-best passing offense. That makes the Lions’ effort look even more amazing.

FOUR: Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson went deep into his playbook with a flea-flicker touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta, a pass to left tackle Taylor Decker in the end zone that wasn’t complete and a trick TD play to right tackle Penei Sewell that was negated by a penalty. He made offensive lineman Dan Skipper eligible on the first play, a nod to the whole mess at the end of the game last December which the Lions lost.

FIVE: Dan Campbell had his bunch ready to play. The game plan was solid. It looked like the best game for the offense and defense this season. A big nod also to defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn who is playing without a few key injured players. Campbell didn’t make much of it during the week to the media, but he grew up in Texas and played three seasons for the Cowboys. At practice Friday one of the tunes blaring from the speakers was from the Texan band, Whiskey Myers. It was called “Bury My Bones” and seemed to fit in with the theme of the week.

BONUS: Brian Branch came up with two interceptions of Prescott and was stopped just short of a touchdown on the return of the second one early in the fourth quarter. On the next play Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown in the end zone for a score to give Detroit a 47-9 lead. Branch is the second player in franchise history to record two interceptions and a forced fumble in a single game, joining DB Drè Bly.  

BONUS TOO: Kerby Joseph intercepted Cooper Rush, who was in for Prescott, in the end zone in the fourth quarter. It was Joseph’s fourth interception this year and all four have been in Detroit’s end zone. He is the Lions’ first safety to produce an INT in four of the team’s first five games since 1981.