Getty Aaron Rodgers on the field before a Lions game in 2022.
Things look dismal for the Detroit Lions the rest of the 2022 season, but one of the biggest bright spots is quickly becoming safety Kerby Joseph.
The rookie out of Illinois has introduced himself in a big way with takeaways so far this season, and wasted no time in Week 9 getting that done once again for Detroit against the Green Bay Packers.
Joseph was playing defense for the Lions in the first half against Aaron Rogers and was the lucky beneficiary of an erratic pass which deflected into the air and then into his arms.
Jumpman, Jumpman, Jumpman!
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It wasn’t just Joseph who was making the big plays in the red zone, though. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson soared to make a pick on fourth down of Rodgers.
AIDAN HUTCHINSON INT
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The pair of picks helped keep Green Bay off the board, and the Packers weren’t able to break through with a touchdown on either drive on the one yard line.
A big reason for this? The elite play of Detroit’s rookies on the ball. That is huge for them in the early stages of the game keeping things close
Joseph Makes More Lions History With Takeaways
While Joseph managed to make history last week with a forced fumble, the interception did the same thing for the rookie safety.
As the Lions PR account pointed out, Joseph is producing unlike any other rookie defender the Lions have selected in many decades in terms of the fumbles and interceptions early on in his career.
“Since at least 1999, Lions safety Kerby Joseph is the first Detroit rookie to produce at least 2 FFs and 1 INT in a debut season. This marks his 3rd-straight game with a FF or INT,” the site tweeted.
Joseph has been a revelation thus far with the big plays, and it’s amazing to hear he is making history for the team with the takeaways and turnovers.
Joseph Issued Warning to Opposition
After Week 8’s loss on October 30, Joseph spoke with the media about another big day on the field in which he piled up five total tackles and a forced fumble on another big hit, and he used the time to send a message to the opponents that he’s not going away.
“If you’re coming in my areas, you’re going to pay the price. If you come into my area every time, you know (I watched) them doing (that in) our film. I recognized it and just wanted to go make a play,” he told the media.
As Joseph said, wideouts coming to where he’s stationed should prepare to get thumped, because nothing’s free in the league.
“You want the ball, you got a pay a price, you feel me? Ain’t nothing free out here, especially if you come to me. Just gotta keep making plays,” Joseph said.
On the day, the Detroit defense didn’t make enough of those plays, and surrendered 382 yards through the air. While Joseph did his part to slow that down forcing a fumble as well as making plays, he wants everyone to know that the Lions still have to earn their own respect.
“I give credit to those guys. They are playmakers also you know. It’s the NFL you know and you just got to get the respect. We just gotta do better next week coming up,” he said.
Clearly, Joseph is leading by example in a big way by making big plays for the Lions at this point. Both him and Hutchinson have become shining examples of solid players from the Detroit draft class in 2022.