In the moments after D'Andre Swift's lowest moment as a football player, the wound of his blunder still fresh, he had a chat with his coaches.
The coaches likely wanted to tell him to turn the page, to forget the dropped pass in the end zone, to hold his head high moving forward. Swift just wanted to tell them how much he appreciated being on the field.
"Even when the coaches talked to me after I was like, 'I thank y'all for just trusting me to be out there,'" Swift said Thursday. "It comes with preparation throughout the week and I think I did a good job of that. Keep building on that so they can trust me to be out there and (give me) more opportunities."
More opportunities are coming. There was a reason Swift led Detroit's running backs with 34 offensive snaps in Week 1. The Lions like him. He's a weapon as a pass-catcher, especially on third down, and he's reliable as a blocker. He turned his one red-zone carry into a touchdown.
Had the game not slipped through Swift's fingers with six seconds to go, we would have spent this week discussing his terrific NFL debut. And perhaps next week we'll be discussing his ability to turn a difficult moment into fuel.
"You have to," Swift said. "I just gotta do my part to make sure nothing like that happens again. Just gotta finish better -- and I will."
Matt Patricia was the first to console Swift as the Lions walked off the field last Sunday. He put an arm around the rookie's shoulder and told him the loss wasn't on him. Not at all. Then it was Adrian Peterson's turn. Then Matthew Stafford's. Then Swift's parents, who were in town for the game. And then pretty much anyone in his phone.
"Probably everybody in my contacts reached out to me," he said with a smile.
Swift appreciated the support, especially from his teammates. "Just to know they got my back, to have them guys, to hear their words and encouragement meant a lot," he said. Truth is, he didn't really need it.
He was going to be fine either way.
"I'm a real confident person in my style of play, so I know that wasn't me," Swift said. "Just gotta get back to fundamentals and have a good week of practice so when I got that opportunity again, god willing, I don't make that mistake."
It's not him, he's right. Swift dropped just three passes over his career at Georgia. He didn't drop any as a senior. It just so happens he dropped this one, under the bright lights of an NFL Sunday, with the game on the line.
But there are several Sunday's to come, this year and beyond, and Swift will have every opportunity to leave his first Sunday in the past.
