To say that Darius Slay had a tough day covering Keenan Allen would be an understatement. Allen won virtually every battle against Slay throughout the whole game. Fortunately for the Lions, Slay won the war.
The Detroit Lions won their home opener, defeating the Los Angeles Charges 13-10, giving them their first win on the season. Slay intercepted Chargers QB Phillip Rivers in the endzone with 1:10 left in the game to seal the victory. Rivers, who threw for 293 yards, targeted Slay throughout the entire afternoon. He connected with Allen eight times for 98 yards.
“He was setting me up with (opportunities) all game”, said Slay when speaking on his game-sealing interception. “So I was like, ‘He’s not going to run right now. I kind of baited it, made him run the out-route on me on the run and made a play on it.” Slay grabbed his 12th interception in the last three seasons combined. That’s the most in the NFL by a cornerback in that span. With yesterday’s win, the Lions improve to 1-0-1, holding second place in the NFC North.
Golladay Shines
Kenny Golladay highlighted the Lions offense. He finished with eight receptions for 117 yards and one touchdown. Golladay has now produced the fourth 100-yard game of his career, the third-most a Lions player has produced within his first 28 career games. Golladay spoke on the urgency of his touchdown and his team’s late offensive breakthrough.
“We needed it. I was just happy, you know”, said Golladay. “My number was called pretty much, so I go out there and made a play. Offensively we were doing good, but we were still just hurting ourselves a little bit. But it felt good for sure.”
One Band, New Sound
Yesterday’s game didn’t provide much scoring action, but Eastern Michigan University’s (EMU) Marching Band made up for that with their halftime performance. Led by newly hired director Dr. Chandler Wilson, they performed several songs to the delight of the crowd, including Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”. This is one of their first non-EMU performances under Chandler’s direction. Chandler’s appointment has sent shockwaves through the EMU community. Chandler carries an HBCU background, having obtained his bachelor’s degree in music education as a saxophone principal from Florida A&M University.
What’s Next?
The Lions will travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles, in a game that could be a tough contest for the boys in the Honolulu blue. After suffering a heartbreaking loss against the Atlanta Falcons, the Eagles be looking to get a measure of revenge. However, they’ll have to do that without DT Tim Jernigan, who broke his foot in their loss to the Falcons. The Lions have won their last two games against the Eagles (2015 & 2016). Both teams have historically played each other about even, with the Eagles holding at 16-15-2 record all-time in their matchups.
Kickoff will be at 1 PM.
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