Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown holds himself to a high standard.
It's a standard that's allowed him to have the most receptions (584) in NFL history through a player's first six seasons and earned him four Pro Bowl nods and three All-Pro selections.
St. Brown's 37 receptions on the season rank eighth among the league's pass catchers. His 372 receiving yards are Top 20 and his five touchdowns are third.
After Detroit's victory in Arizona Week 5, a win in which St. Brown had six catches for 69 yards but had a third quarter drop and fumbled twice, he was not happy with his individual performance.
"I'm excited for the dub, obviously, for the team," he said. "But my performance, I'm not excited about."
By the time the Lions take on division rival Green Bay at Ford Field Sunday, St. Brown will have had 14 days to think on that Week 5 performance and will look to bounce back from what he thought was a sub-standard personal performance.
"I have high standards for myself and the way I play," St. Brown said this week. "I feel like I was below the standard last game and you hate to have games like that. Just excited for this week to get back out there with the guys against a division opponent who's been playing really good football. I wouldn't want it any other way. Against Green Bay at home coming off a bye. It's perfect. I love it."
The Packers have been an interesting opponent for St. Brown throughout his Lions tenure. In 10 games against Green Bay, he has just one 100-yard receiving performance (2021). He's averaged 5.1 receptions for 52.6 yards with three total touchdowns in those 10 games.
St. Brown seems highly motivated this week to be a big part of getting Detroit a division win.
OFFENSIVE PERSPECTIVE
The Lions should get Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch back in the lineup this week.
Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has faced Branch in past stops, most recently when he was the offensive coordinator in Arizona. Petzing knows what kind of impact Branch can have in a game. Branch had nine tackles, one tackle for loss and two passes defended in the Lions' Week 3 victory over Arizona in 2024.
"It's very similar to the conversation we have about tight ends on offense. It's the versatility piece. He can cover slot receivers. He can take away tight ends. He can show up and be dynamic in the run game and he can pressure the quarterback," Petzing said of Branch.
"So, when you can do all of those different things, it's really hard to account for him because you never really know. Is he down there to cover? Is he down there for the run? Is he down there to blitz?
"I think when you have a guy that does that many jobs at such a high level, which is very rare, it creates that indecision for an offense of how much do we have to handle him? What is our ability to do that? And how much are we willing to sacrifice what we do to make sure that doesn't hurt us?"
SLOWING DOWN LOVE
The Packers have played their best football of the season over the last two weeks ahead of Sunday's matchup in Detroit.
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love has played particularly well, according to head coach Dan Campbell.
"He's able to facilitate and find his completions. Those guys are plucking, run after catch, and he's still getting the bombs," Campbell said Friday morning. "So, he's playing at a high level. I mentioned that. I think he's playing as good as anybody right now at the quarterback position this year."
Love ranks first in the NFL in 40-plus-yard completions (8), first in 50-plus-yard completions (3), third in 20-plus-yard completions (24), third in passing yards (1,684) and seventh in passing touchdowns (11).
Detroit is coming off their best defensive performance of the season in Week 5 vs. Arizona but have their work cut out for them on Sunday.
