Locker room buzz: Backups step up, Sewell talks trick play, Jamo apologizes and Bates' perfect run ends
Detroit — Here’s what I learned bouncing around the Detroit Lions’ locker room following the team’s 23-20 victory over the Chicago Bears.
Next man up steps up
When you have as many injuries as the Lions do on defense, you need someone unexpected to step up. On Thursday, that man was defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad.
Not only did the veteran edge rusher come up with his first sack since Oct. 22 on the game’s final drive, he added pressure on a third down that led to a throwaway, and drew a holding call that helped kill another first-half drive.
According to NFL Next Gen stats, Muhammad racked up a stellar seven QB pressures on the day.
“I thought Muhammad played big for us,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “It was good to get him back in the lineup. He’s a relentless player, gives you all he’s got.”
Early in the week, Muhammad got charged up by some motivation from teammate Za’Darius Smith.
“When he found out at the beginning of the week he was going to be up, I said, 'Give them a reason to not send you back down,’” Smith said. “As you see, he did that today.”
Smith and Muhammad didn’t know each other before Smith came over in a trade from Cleveland at the deadline, but they’ve formed a fast bond. Muhammad acknowledged the advice resonated.
“It's super valuable,” Muhammad said. “That's my dawg. We're really tight. We feed off each other, we're always talking to each other. Man, sometimes, he puts things into perspective. We know how this game goes, it's performance-based. You have to show up and you have to perform. I already know certain things, but having him in my ear like that gives you an extra push.”