Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are up there, more and more with each game. But George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb are "probably the best tandem wide receivers in the league," D.J. Reed said after the Lions' win over the Cowboys last Thursday. If anyone tops Pickens and Lamb, it might be the duo Detroit sees next: Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
Reed and Amik Robertson must level up this week. They both know it. The Lions won last week in spite of them, in their biggest game of the year. Reed lost his matchup with Lamb before the latter was knocked out of the Lions' 44-30 win due to a concussion, though Reed was better when he switched onto Pickens. Robertson was solid against Pickens along with Rock Ya-Sin, but struggled against Lamb and Dallas' No. 3 receiver Ryan Flournoy.
Combined, Reed and Robertson, Detroit's top two corners with Terrion Arnold done for the season after shoulder surgery, allowed 17 catches on 24 targets in coverage for 242 yards and a touchdown, per PFF -- bringing their total over the last two games to 27 catches on 39 targets for 389 yards and three touchdowns.
"I had the task of going against CeeDee and to be honest, he got the better of me before he got hurt. And on the island, sometimes that’s how it goes," said Reed, the Lions' No. 1 corner. "And then I moved over to Pickens. They’re both phenomenal players. Sometimes it’s a bad day in the office, but I’m glad we got the W."
Robertson's day didn't go much better. While he and Ya-Sin kept Pickens in check on a night the star receiver's effort appeared to lag as the game wore on -- "Rock and Amik did a great job on him," said Reed -- Robertson was guilty on a couple big plays to Lamb and Flournoy. On the first, he missed a tackle on Lamb short of the sticks on third down and allowed a long gain. On the second, he tried to jump a double-move by Flournoy and allowed a walk-in touchdown from 42 yards out.
And Prescott bailed Robertson out on a bad throw to Lamb after Robertson lost the receiver down the sideline for what could have been another long touchdown late in the first half.
Asked about the performance of the defense after the Lions produced five sacks and three takeaways, Robertson said, "We could’ve played even better than that, me with the touchdown." On a night Detroit's pass rush was firing, Robertson said he "had a clock in my head to cover for three to four seconds and then jump everything," which backfired on the throw to Flournoy. He took full responsibility for the error.
"That was all me," he said.
Roberston does deserve credit on the Lions' second takeaway for breaking up a slant to Pickens that popped into the air and became a pick for Derrick Barnes, which Detroit quickly converted into a touchdown. And Reed got the third takeaway to seal the game when he wrestled away a pass to Flournoy with the help of backup safety Daniel Thomas for his second pick of the year. But Detroit's best corner last Thursday was Ya-Sin, the veteran reserve who might be playing himself into a bigger role.
"The pick definitely helped me feel a little better about how I played," said Reed. "I had a rough night. It’s crazy, my mom was here and she was here for the Browns game, both games I got picks."
The Browns game is when Reed suffered the hamstring injury that cost him nearly two months. At the time, he was hitting his stride in Detroit's defense after signing a $48 million deal last offseason, locking up Zay Flowers of the Ravens and Jerry Jeudy of the Browns in back to back weeks. In three games since his return, Reed is still trying to find that flow. With Nacua, Adams and Matthew Stafford looming, the Lions need him to find it quickly.
Reed got cooked by Lamb a couple times off the line, first for 37 yards and later for 32 on a play where Reed was also flagged for pass interference, and missed a tackle on Lamb much like Robertson that led to a 21-yard catch and run. Reed also committed pass interference on a deep shot to Pickens that would've brought the ball to the goal line if not for an offsetting hands-to-the-face penalty at the line of scrimmage on tight end Jake Ferguson against Aidan Hutchinson.
"I would say the confidence is not how it was when I was getting in the groove against Cleveland and Baltimore," said Reed. "My hammy is fully healthy, but I definitely feel like I still gotta get more practices and more games under my belt to be 100 percent confident."
Nacua is first among NFL receivers in catches and second in yards. Adams is first overall in receiving touchdowns with 14, five more than anyone else. They are one of only three tandems who both rank among the top 25 receivers in the league in yards. Pickens and Lamb, and St. Brown and Williams are the others.
Reed said he would enjoy the win over the Cowboys for 24 hours, "watch the film tonight, chill with the fam tomorrow, "and sh*t, (by Saturday) I’m gonna start watching LA." Robertson echoed a mantra from Dan Campbell and said, "If something goes wrong, fix it. Don’t hang your head low, get it back."
"He knows mistakes are going to happen, but we can’t continue to do 'em," said Robertson.
The Lions' playoff odds got a significant boost with their win last week. They now control their own destiny at 8-5. They could really improve their chances with another win this week in LA, and perhaps vault themselves back into the division race as well. But they'll need Reed and Robertson to bounce back, especially with an onslaught of injuries to their safeties.
"Every game from here on out," said Reed, "is basically a playoff game."