Listen, the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions are not the most storied rivalry in the NFL. Not even close.
However, ahead of their upcoming Week 6 matchup, there’s certainly some uniqueness to the game.
After all, how can you forget last year’s showdown that came down to the wire, with the Cowboys winning 20-19? How can you forget the postgame discourse that surrounded the game, with many blaming the refs for how they handled a Lions’ trick play that featured some receiver eligibility shenanigans. Or the fact that they called a Cowboys’ lineman for a tripping penalty Aidan Hutchinson committed?
In short, there was drama. And now that we get to do it again in 2024, Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis is making sure that is the case again. On Wednesday, he was asked about Amon-Ra St. Brown’s offseason comments about him, when he claimed Lewis was talking “crazy” in their 2023 matchup
“I honestly don’t remember,” Lewis said about what he told St. Brown last year, via The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf. “Sometimes I just black out, just go somewhere else with it. But if I said anything disrespectful, I’d probably say it again.”
That’s the kind of quote that has turned Lewis into a fan favorite. He sets the tone, as Mike McCarthy said earlier in the week. He cares and genuinely wants to beat whoever is on the other side of the field. That’s refreshing in today’s NFL, in which it’s easy for players on opposing teams to be friendly to each other. Listen, I’m all for sportsmanship but it’s tough to act like a dynamic like the one Lewis brings to the table.
Lewis’ quote sets the table for a feisty matchup against St. Brown and peers, as the Lions’ WR1 moves around a lot and spends most of the time out wide, meaning he won’t be facing the Cowboys’ nickelback down to down.
“It was a lot of fun,” Lewis told reporters about last year’s matchup with the Lions. “I don’t know man, I just want to go out there and play good ball, honestly, so I mean if they want to bring the fight to me, then that’s what it is.”
As excited as Lewis is, he knows very well how good the 3-1 Lions are. They’re 5th in offensive EPA/play and can be explosive on the ground and through the air. They’ve got one loss on their schedule but it came in a game where they outgained the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by 247 yards.
“Honestly, I just want to go out there and prepare because they’re a good team,” said Lewis. “You can’t lose your head, go out there, and just try to make it a brawl. But they’re a good team, they’re really focused, and I feel like they believe they can win it all this year. So, it’s definitely going to be a good challenge.”