Detroit Lions defensive back Amik Robertson isn’t treating Thursday night’s NFC North showdown against the Green Bay Packers as anything close to just another team, and leaning heavily into the fact that this is a bitter rivalry with major playoff implications.
Last season, Robertson intercepted Jordan Love and posted two tackles in a Las Vegas Raiders victory over the Packers, and fully intends to pick up where he left off in that game, when the two teams meet at Ford Field on Thursday night.
“A certain guy said certain words that I felt like I couldn’t come back from, and by me coming here I know that the Lions, they don’t really fool with them,” Robertson told the Detroit Free Press. “So it’s even more tension. So that’s why the first time we played them when it was a couple of weeks ago, when the Lions played them, I was hype. And I’m going to kind turn it down a little bit as far as those flags, but I’m going to come with the same smoke. And the guys in the back end, the defense, the offense, they’re going to come with it, too. So just hopefully they can match it.”
Robertson, in his first season with the Lions, is in the midst of the strongest season of his career.
The 26-year-old enters Week 14 with 34 total tackles, two forced fumbles, four pass breakups and one tackle for loss.
Packers and Lions Trading Trash Talk Ahead of Thursday Night
Robertson isn’t the only player, though, throwing kerosene on this rivalry as Thursday night’s kickoff nears.
“He’s a respectable player in the NFC,” Packers tight end Tucker Kraft told reporters this week, when asked about Lions defensive back Kerby Joseph. “But in my mind, I’m not really worried about DBs too often. I’m worried more about guys in the box, and I’m sure they bring guys down, safety rotation. And we target them in the run. But it’s just a different game. I don’t have too many tidbits on Kerby. I know he’s a dangerous player. He can flip games. He’s a good DB.”
How all of this trash talk impacts Thursday night’s game is anyone’s guess, but it sure seems to be setting the stage for a physical and contentious showdown between two teams with sights set on a potential division crown and possible No. 1 seed in the NFC.
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