Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown is ready for a verbal exchange with former Michigan star Jourdan Lewis

Allen Park — Great sporting moments arise from the unexpected.

But big rivalries? They are rooted in the fact that two sides are just so predictable.

The third annual meeting between Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis was always destined to contain some banter. There’s a little more spice this time around than in previous versions, after St. Brown called Lewis one of the game’s craziest trash talkers on “The Pivot Podcast” in July.

When asked who he plays least against on defense, St. Brown said, “A guy that comes to mind is Jourdan Lewis, I think his name is, from the Cowboys.”

“I don’t talk much unless someone is talking to me. I block hard, I do all that. But he was talking crazy, like some shit I’ve never heard before,” St. Brown said on the podcast. “I’m like, ‘Yo, wait a minute.’ I have to be tough… He was talking crazy out of his own pocket.”

St. Brown continued: “I don’t know what he’s saying. I’m trying to make plays, win the game; I’m not worried about him. But when he started talking like that, I said, ‘Okay, “If I get the chance to get it, I’ll get it.”

Lewis, a Detroit native who played at Cass Tech and was a two-time All-American at Michigan, claimed earlier this week that he couldn’t remember what he said to St. Brown.

“Sometimes I just pass out and take it somewhere else,” Lewis said, according to The Athletic. “But if I said something disrespectful, I would probably say it again.”

If you watched the Cowboys’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, none of this is surprising. Lewis went all out with Steelers wide receiver George Pickens all evening, even after Lewis recovered a fumble on the final play of the game to secure a 20-17 win. While berating Pickens after the fumble recovery, Pickens grabbed Lewis’ face mask and dragged him to the grass.

As Lewis left Sunday’s game, he was videotaped saying, “Pittsburgh needs a receiver. George Pickens is weak.”

“Honestly, I shouldn’t have said that when I came out,” Lewis said earlier this week when asked what prompted him to call Pickens into the tunnel. “It was an emotional game, we went back and forth throughout the game and there was some chatter on the pitch but one thing led to another. He had a moment, I had a moment. “It was too emotional, it shouldn’t be,” I said.

Pickens’ reaction to the final play is an indicator that everything Lewis is saying out there is working. For St. Brown, the goal then is to block out the noise and render his trash talk ineffective, but that’s easier said than done.

Over the past two seasons, Lewis has been a thorn in the side of Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Lewis has intercepted a pass in each of the Cowboys’ last two meetings with Detroit, in 2022 and 2023.

Lewis was also one of the best corners in all of football this season. He has been targeted 20 times and has allowed just 14 catches for 86 yards, good for an opposing passer rating of 78.3.

According to St. Brown, trash talk doesn’t cross his mind. This makes him play better.

In last season’s controversial Dallas-Detroit finish, St. Brown caught six passes for 90 yards and scored a touchdown with 23 seconds left, giving the Lions a chance to take the lead before Taylor Decker’s 2-point conversion was called back. St. Brown was withdrawn by a concussion spotter after just one catch in the 2022 game, a 24-6 Cowboys victory.

St. Brown was targeted by Lewis in coverage twice last year and caught one pass for 11 yards.

“Normally I don’t get too involved. Maybe I say something back a little, but mostly it just fires me up, gets me going, so I love it. I don’t usually say the first word, but “When someone talks to me, it just fires me up,” St. Brown said. “I feel like some games out there you’re just playing ball and then someone’s cheering for you. You say, ‘Okay, let’s go,’ and that kind of gets you going for the rest of the game.”

Lewis was a four-star recruit coming out of Cass Tech in 2013 who compiled a stellar college resume at Michigan. He was named Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year in 2016 and was a first-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2015 and 2016.

In the 2017 NFL Draft, Lewis was selected in the third round, 92nd overall, by the Cowboys.

For those wondering, Lewis’ Detroit roots didn’t make him a Lions fan.

“Honestly? They weren’t that good,” Lewis said. “I mean, it’s definitely different there. This may be a joke, but they are definitely a different team.”

Lewis is happy for the city that it finally has a formidable football team that reflects its identity – just not this Sunday.

“I mean, it’s great for the city,” Lewis said. “The football they play definitely embodies everything that Detroit is about, so I’m glad they play like that.”

“But at the same time I want to destroy it.”

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Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown is ready for a verbal exchange with former Michigan star Jourdan Lewis

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