Regardless of being a consistent weapon in the Lions offense on a weekly basis, it still feels like Amon-Ra St. Brown is slept on. Which is hard to imagine as he finished the season with 119 receptions for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns. Furthermore, he’s been on fire in his last five games with 39 receptions for 562 yards and four touchdowns.
As the Lions returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and hosted their first home playoff game since 1991, St. Brown was outstanding in the opening round of the playoffs. Finishing the game with 7 receptions for 110 yards, he made big play after big play on Sunday night. Each one of his receptions went for first down and he caught the first down pass that sealed the Lions first playoff win in 32 years. Let’s dive into the tape to see what makes Amon-Ra St. Brown so good as a pass-catcher for the Lions.
Starting with one of the first big plays of the game from St. Brown, it’s one where he shows his strength and play-making ability. Looking at the play above, you’ll see that the Lions come out in a 2×2 set with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end).
At the top of the screen, St. Brown is aligned as the ‘X’ receiver. Once the ball is snapped, he releases vertical but hits the cornerback with an inside jab step while pushing vertically along the sideline. As he gets about 7 or 8 yards downfield, he throttles down quickly and turns back to Goff on a curl route.
With an opening, Goff fires the ball to St. Brown and it leads to him securing the catch. Despite having the defender on his back, he tosses him off and puts his play strength and run after-the-catch ability on display.
The next play I want to focus on is one of my favorite catches from St. Brown on the season. Looking at the play above, the Lions come out in a trips left formation with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end).
Aligned as the lone receiver on the bottom of the screen is St. Brown. Much like the previous play, St. Brown hits the defender with an inside jab step before releasing outside. Rather than turning back to Goff on a curl route, St. Brown runs a wheel route instead. With enough separation, St. Brown is able to concentrate and get his hands up for the catch. His ability to run after catching it is just an added bonus.
Moving onto a huge 3rd down completion, we move to a play that happens coming out of the two-minute warning before the half. Previous Lions teams would have ran a screen or a draw play and gave the ball to the opposition with plenty of time. Not this Lions team.
They go for the jugular every chance they get.
Looking at the play above, the Lions come out in a trips left formation with condensed splits. Bunched together on the left side is Josh Reynolds, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see all 3 receivers release vertically. As the defender across from St. Brown tries to jam him, you’ll see a quick arm over from St. Brown and that gives him plenty of separation.
Exploding off his inside foot, St. Brown snaps his route towards the sideline on a deep out route. With no defender in sight, he’s able to catch this one freely and clean. Goff really drives this throw and delivers a strike and it leads to a big first down for the Lions.
Lastly, I want to focus on one of the greatest plays we’ve seen in our lives. It’s the play that secured the game for the Lions. Coming out of the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, the Lions were given a chance to talk this one out with Ben Johnson and Dan Campbell.
Looking at the play above, the Lions come out in a 2×2 set and aligned in the slot on the bottom of the screen, you’ll see St. Brown. Despite facing off-coverage from the defender, it’s not enough to slow him down. He pushes vertically and while it appears like he could be running a deep route, he snaps his route back towards Goff. While there’s contact from St. Brown, there’s also contact from the defender.
This gives separation to St. Brown and Goff gets the ball to him quickly. Turning up field right after catching the ball leads to St. Brown picking up the first down and it sets up the Lions to come out in the victory formation. After three straight kneel downs, the Lions win the game and advance to the next round of the playoffs!
When looking at the tape, you can see St. Brown make plays constantly. He’s by far the best player on the offense and is an absolute joy to watch every week. As he enters a contract year, it’s no secret that he’ll be worth every penny he’s given on his next contract. We can only hope that it’s an extension to stay in Detroit for a very long time. For now, look for him to continue to make big play after big play this weekend against Tampa Bay in the Divisional Round of the playoffs!