DETROIT – The Detroit Lions are defending a hit that injured a Rams player during Sunday’s playoff game at Ford Field and pointing to Matthew Stafford’s ball placement as a reason for the force of the hit.
With 5:07 left in the game and the Lions leading 24-23, Stafford threw a 1st and 10 pass to tight end Tyler Higbee over the middle inside the 30-yard line. Higbee bobbled the pass momentarily, and before he could fully gather it, the ball was jarred loose when Kerby Joseph toppled him with a hit near the knees.
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Higbee flipped over and then stayed on the ground, grabbing at his leg. It’s believed he suffered a torn ACL on the play.
Fans on social media immediately began to debate whether Joseph’s hit was dirty, but his teammates are coming to his defense.
“All seriousness, this game we play is very dangerous,” Joseph tweeted after the game. “I’m praying for bro and his family. I don’t have no intention to hurt nobody and/or harm their career. I been a dog since I came out my mama womb and none of y’all on here are going to take that away from me.”
Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone replied, saying, “Don’t even need to comment on it. It’s how the league office asks us to tackle.”
Replay shows Joseph hit the side of Higbee’s knee/upper leg with his shoulder and back. Teammate and fellow safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson said in the locker room after the game that Joseph isn’t to blame.
“If anybody on the Rams feel like it was dirty, well tell his quarterback don’t put the ball in a place where he gets his player hurt,” Gardner-Johnson said. “You hear Brady say it all the time.
“Man, Kerby’s a ballplayer. Kerby’s been doing it since he’s been here, before I got here, and like I said, if the quarterback don’t want any players to get hurt or messed up, don’t put it where our safeties are going to make a play.”
Dirty or not, that ended up being a huge play. On 2nd and 10, the Rams gained six yards. A holding penalty pushed them back to 3rd and 14 on the Detroit 44, and another incomplete pass forced them to punt.
Goff and the Lions picked up two first downs on the ensuing drive, and the Rams never got the ball back.
