Listening to Amik Robertson at his locker Sunday afternoon, his pads still strapped, a Gatorade towel draped over his head, you might have thought he was one of the culprits in a disappointing performance. In his mind, he was. The Lions won by 24.
"We always got something to prove," Robertson said after the Lions held the Browns to 10 points and forced three turnovers in Detroit's third straight win. "Every time we go out there we want to be the best defense. We could have had more turnovers than that. I did some bullsh*t. Missed a pick. We left a lot of opportunities out there."
There are plenty more coming Robertson's way. On a day that D.J. Reed was carted off the field after crumpling to the turf clutching his hamstring and Terrion Arnold left the game with a shoulder injury, Robertson was Detroit's last man standing at cornerback. Per usual, he stood tall. He was upset with himself for allowing a deep ball down the sideline, letting a pick slip through his hands and missing a tackle, but Robertson rose to the occasion when the Lions needed it.
He shook his head at his locker and said, "I'm thinking about the near pick."
After getting beat by Isaiah Bond for a 35-yard completion down the right sideline in the third quarter, Robertson locked Bond up on the next play down the left sideline. Joe Flacco threw it all the same, and Robertson saw it first. He just wasn't quite fast or firm enough with his hands to snare it.
"That’s why I’m beating myself up so bad, man," he said. "Those opportunities don't come too often and I have no food to leave on the plate, man. I need it all. I’ll beat myself up for these 24 hours and get back to the drawing board. I’ll be out there (next week) with more aggression, more swagger and more confidence."
A bigger role was coming Robertson's way as it was. Indeed, he smiled Friday when asked about it and said, "Bigger Role Robertson, man." Robertson earned his keep with Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard last year, especially when he bumped outside in place of injured corner Carlton Davis III down the stretch and fought for every inch. He shut down Justin Jefferson in the season finale with the NFC North on the line.
As the nickel in a defense that plays tons of base, Robertson's snaps were limited through the first few games this year. Sheppard decided he owed it to Robertson and to Detroit's defense to get one of its feistiest players on the field more. It doubled as a way to relieve some of Arnold's year-two growing pains. On one of the first throws that came his way Sunday, the 5'9 Robertson out-jumped 6'4 tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and broke up the pass with a shake of the head.
"At nickel, I’m in and out (of the game). At corner I get a feel. I can feel routes, I can do a lot of reading routes, reading the quarterback. I think my instincts kick in a little bit more, and I’m on the field a lot. I get very comfortable when I’m on the outside, so expect my play to increase every week," Robertson said. "You know I ain’t duckin’ nothin."
Reed spent last week shutting down Zay Flowers in the Lions' win over the Ravens. Prior to his injury early in the fourth quarter Sunday, he spent most of his afternoon on the Browns' top receiver Jerry Jeudy. Robertson took over from there. When Flacco tried to hit Jeudy on third down on the next drive, Robertson read the route the whole way and forced Flacco to throw it high and wide and out of bounds. Robertson was immediately in Jeudy's grill, pointing at his own head.
No one in the Lions' locker room is more frequently watching film on his tablet than Robertson. He's a junkie. On the throw to Jeudy, Robertson knew the Browns were trying to pick him at the line, so he "pressed on purpose," then dropped back and worked overtop to bait Flacco's throw toward the sideline -- "so I could get my pick back," he said. Had the pass been catchable for Jeudy, Robertson was ready to swoop in front and steal it.
"Me and Jeudy go way back, man, since when I was the Raiders," Robertson said. "He was like, 'How you knew that was coming!?' I pointed at my head, like, 'I’m very smart.'"
The Lions won Sunday's game on the strength of their defense and special teams. The Browns' defense was just as stingy, but only took the ball away once. That was the difference on a day the two teams were relatively even on offense, aside from a few clutch third-down conversions by Detroit. Amon-Ra St. Brown, how do you do.
Detroit's pass-rush got home a few times led by Aidan Hutchinson, which will be crucial in the weeks ahead against quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield. Just as vital will be the play of Robertson on the outside. The Bengals and Ja'Marr Chase are next, even without Joe Burrow. Jefferson and the Vikings loom. Emeka Egbuka is blossoming quickly for the Bucs. Arnold, healthy or not, isn't yet suited for these matchups. If Reed is down for a while as the Lions fear, Robertson will be waiting.
"It’s a lot of things I wish I could have back (from Sunday)," he said. "But it’s cool. I’m very confident in myself. I know when this sh*t go to rolling, I’m a bad individual."