These games are different for Isaac TeSlaa. To borrow that, uhm, cheesy SEC marketing line, they just mean more. Most players on the Lions have to learn to loathe their division rivals, the Packers in particular. TeSlaa was born into abhorring them. The west Michigan native who's been a Lions fan his whole life can't help but play with a little extra juice against the NFC North.
Did you see him toward the end of Detroit's win over the Vikings? While the Lions were putting away the game on the ground, TeSlaa kept seeking out safety Josh Metellus for more contact. Or the week prior after their first touchdown against the Packers? As Jameson Williams was celebrating with Amon-Ra St. Brown, TeSlaa was abusing cornerback Brandon Cisse in the back of the end zone to the point that Cisse told him to chill the ---- out.
TeSlaa shook Cisse at top of his route, chucked him to ground in end zone, then went back for more. Said he was so fired up in this moment -- first drive of first division game, adrenaline surging -- that Cisse was telling him to chill tf out. 😂😂
— Will Burchfield (@burchie_kid) October 26, 2026
"You think about guys on the team, like Saint, Jamo, Jared, all those guys had to learn to hate the Packers," TeSlaa said this week. "You come to the Lions, like, ‘Oh s**t, we hate the Packers.’ I grew up hating the Packers. I got so many bad memories of the Packers, so if I get the opportunity to do something like that and talk a little s**t, I’m gonna do it, especially against a team like that."
The Lions left no doubt on their clinching drive against the Vikings. They ran it against Minnesota's will until the clock said they could stop. Jahmyr Gibbs and Sione Vaki ripped off yards in chunks. On Gibbs' second carry of the drive, TeSlaa locked horns with Metellus at Detroit's 35-yard line. Gibbs wound up at the 40. TeSlaa drove Metellus back to the 20. TeSlaa's initial block was necessary in helping Gibbs scoot around the left edge. The rest of it was for his own satisfaction.
"For one, it’s the last drive of the game," said TeSlaa. "If we get the first down we win the game. Second thing, I wasn’t out there a ton (that game), so I still had a bunch of energy. Third thing, Metellus was talking s**t early in the game, saying some crazy s**t, so I was like, f**k you. He had kinda given up, and I’m gonna block to the whistle."
On a short run by Gibbs early in the second half, TeSlaa inserted behind the offensive line, came up the middle and took a shoulder from Metellus who was running across the field from the other direction. TeSlaa got the worst of it, but they both hit the turf. Metellus got up talking in TeSlaa's face "like he made a play" when, in reality, neither one of them had any impact on it. "So then I’m pissed off," said TeSlaa. He held onto that until they met again.
And again. On the play after his extended block on Metellus, TeSlaa went back for more. The Lions lined up in the same formation, except this time they handed it to LaPorta for a conversion on second and short. TeSlaa got a piece of corner Byron Murphy on the edge to muddle his path to the backfield, "and then I was just head-on Metellus," he said with a laugh.
Metellus wanted little to do with it. TeSlaa was actually expecting more resistance when they came grill to grill a few yards beyond the pile. Metellus pushed him away and shook his head, as if to say, we're done here. They had a brief exchange before separating.
"I called him some words," TeSlaa laughed. "I called him some names."
"But I found him after the game, everything’s cool. It’s just the competitive nature. Everyone on the field understands that during the game, when the clock’s running, everyone f**king hates each other, especially division rivals," said TeSlaa. "After the game, ‘Good game, appreciate the intensity, I’ll see you again, stay healthy,’ that stuff. It’s a mutual respect."
Mixed -- in TeSlaa's case -- with deep-rooted disdain.
The Lions' final two drives against the Vikings were a work of physical art. Gibbs and Vaki averaged almost 10 yards a carry. After a choppy start to the game on offense, the Lions churned out 230 yards on the ground against the best defense in the NFL.
"We talked all week about what kind of game it was going to be, and it turned out to be that exact game. We were going to play their game and we were going to beat them in their game," said TeSlaa. "It wasn’t going to be a bunch of points, but we knew it was going to be gritty and we’d have to fight for every yard and it was going to come down virtually to that last drive.
"To be able to end in the best play in football, the victory formation, we were just waiting to get to that point obviously. We trusted our run game. And the beauty of it is, we threw a million different things at them run game wise, put up a bunch of yards, and then by the end it was just bread-and-butter stuff that we were executing."
TeSlaa has been much quieter recently as a receiver. He has just one catch on four targets in the last three games. He didn't see a single ball come his way against the Vikings. He's still bothered that he couldn't come down with a potential touchdown against the Packers on a little fade to the front pylon. But the Lions are 3-0 over that stretch and have run for over 500 yards and nearly 5.0 yards per carry.
"I love it," said TeSlaa. "I truly, truly love blocking. And as the season continues, it’s going to be an advantage for me because I’m going to be able to do stuff off the run looks that we have. Whatever they need me to do, I’m gonna do. Sometimes coming off a game it’s like, 'Well, I had zero targets, zero catches, but f**k it we won the game.' And there’s going to be opportunities where the ball’s going to come my way in crucial moments and I’ll be ready for them."
