Brian Branch grew up watching Monday Night Football, "just imagining myself being in that position."
"Now that I’m actually in that position, I got my family watching, the whole world watching," Branch told Fox 2's Dan Miller. "And as a player, that’s what you want. All eyes on you."
Branch and the Lions will be back in the spotlight Monday night in Baltimore. Their last trip to M&T Bank Stadium came during Branch's rookie season and happened to fall on his 22nd birthday: "Not a good birthday present," he said. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens scored touchdowns on their first four drives of the game in a 38-6 rout.
That was on Branch's mind when he accepted a game ball in the Lions' locker room last Sunday after their win over the Bears and announced, "We can't get too excited. We got Baltimore next week."
"This game, yeah," Branch said a few days later, "we want this game."
Now in year three, Branch is becoming one of the best defensive players in the NFL. He plays with "no brake pedal," he said with a smile. "Full go. Full gas." That was clear on his hit-stick on D'Andre Swift in Week 2 that forced a fumble and the Lions' first takeaway of the season. Branch said he was "just licking my chops" once he saw Swift cut up field, "and I made a great play."
He's got a knack for them. That's the byproduct of being deployed all over the field. As linebacker Jack Campbell said last week, "He can blitz, he can cover, he can be a free robber player, he can be a post player, he’s smart, he's instinctual, he's physical — he’s the man."
"He can do so many different things at the safety position," said Campbell. "I feel like that's hard to find nowadays."
Indeed, since 1999, Branch is one of only two defensive backs in the NFL to record at least 30 passes defended, 15 tackles for loss, five interceptions, three forced fumbles and three sacks through through the first three seasons of his career. The other is Hall of Famer Ed Reed, one of the greatest safeties ever. And Branch is only 33 games into his career.
"He’s a playmaking dude," said Dan Campbell.
Reed, to be fair, had 12 interceptions to Branch's seven though the same number of games played, but Branch has the edge in passes defended, tackles for loss, forced fumbles and sacks. Branch, ever deferential, acknowledged that it "means a lot to be put in that conversation, but heck, Ed did it for consecutive years."
"I know I gotta do it for consecutive years and just keep on going, honestly," he said.
If you ask Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, Branch is just getting started. Asked last week what he's learned about the 23-year-old who made his first Pro Bowl last season, Sheppard said, "That there’s so much growth left with that player."
"A lot of coaches will see a player like that and be so excited that you forget to coach him. I see that there’s so much left within that player. When I say a joy to coach, he wants to be coached hard because that’s the right way to coach. He wants that, he comes from that, he grew up in that, and it’s why you see him ascending," said Sheppard. "Every year he gets better. That’s not by accident."
Branch spent three seasons under Nick Saban at Alabama, learning how to be a pro before he became one. Those habits serve him well in Detroit, on and off the field. Sheppard praised Branch's "level of detail" in the meeting room and said "he’s starting to ask questions that he never would’ve asked his rookie year."
"Make no mistake about it: he is if not our best, one of the top pillars to this defense, and I want that to be said. And we go as far as our pillars take us," said Sheppard. "He’s a pivotal piece for me each week, week in and week out."
For all the plays that Branch makes against quarterbacks and receivers, he's just as crucial to helping the Lions stop the run. And it's not just the tackles like the one against Swift, loudly as they echo. It's the fact that he can play man coverage in the slot, which allows the Lions to stay in base defense when the offense deploys 11 personnel with three receivers. Most defenses would have to account for that by going lighter in a nickel or dime package.
"It’s hard to run the ball on base defense," explained Lions safeties coach Jim O'Neil. "A lot of teams can’t stay in base and play man coverage. We can with BB. So that’s an advantage for us. It allows us to dictate in some situations, which Shep’s doing an outstanding job with."
It's not a coincidence that since Branch showed up, the Lions have allowed the fewest rushing yards in the NFL. (They've also faced the fewest attempts, having played so frequently with the lead.) The Ravens over that stretch have the most rushing yards and most yards per carry; Derrick Henry has rushed for the most yards individually. Game on, Monday night.
The Ravens in all black. The Lions in all white. To slow down No. 8 and No. 22 for Baltimore, No. 32 for Detroit will have to be at his best.