Getty Lions fan cutouts during a game at Ford Field.
The Detroit Lions, like many teams in the NFL, haven’t been welcoming actual fans to their games this season, but that doesn’t mean plenty of famous people haven’t been showing up to watch the games.
Recently, the Lions revealed a fun video in which star wideout Marvin Jones discovers that Steve Harvey’s cutout is sitting in the stands. He can almost not believe it as he is warming up on the field.
Here’s a look:
Hey @Lions , is this real? There was a @IAmSteveHarvey cutout in the stands? 😆😁
Yes, the Lions did confirm the cutout was real, and it was spectacular.
Other Detroit teams have dressed up famous folks including the Detroit Tigers, who sat a number of local and national celebrities behind home plate when they were finishing up their 2020 season. The Lions also have a number of other fans in attendance, as folks have been able to purchase the cutouts for themselves in the wake of not being able to attend games.
Seeing Harvey in attendance sporting a Lions jersey is just another funny thing for Detroit folks to note in this bizarre 2020 season on the field.
Marvin Jones Called Top NFL Wideout
As for Jones, Detroit has to get him the ball. Recently, Nick Shook took a closer look at NFL.com with the help of some advanced stats from Next Gen Stats in order to determine the top wide receivers in football. Detroit’s Marvin Jones placed within the top 5, claiming the No. 4 spot on Shook’s list. That placed him ahead of names like Calvin Ridley and Amari Cooper.
As it relates to why, Shook admitted in the writeup that it has everything to do with not only his skill, but his ability to grow within an offense that’s set to take off this season.
“Jones, who missed three games himself in 2019, has an interesting week-by-week stat line, with the most peculiar game coming in Week 12 against Washington, with Jeff Driskel under center. Jones was targeted 11 times and caught just five of those passes; those numbers indicate either a receiver having a bad outing or a quarterback giving a receiver few chances to make a play. Jones’ expected catch rate that date was 44.1 percent and he caught 45.5 percent of his targets, meaning he performed slightly better than expectation. He was afforded just 1.3 yards of separation on average when targeted in that game and battled through a tight window on 54.5 percent of targets. This isn’t the receiver’s fault.
Jones overcame plenty — including the second-highest tight-window percentage (29.7) of any of these pass-catchers — to post our fourth and final double-digit positive catch-rate difference of 2019 (among receivers). His yardage total doesn’t say it, but he made plenty of plays amid disadvantageous circumstances.”
Jones had multiple big games this season including a day in October where he exploded for 4 touchdowns in a game against Minnesota. Though his season was cut short by injury, Jones put up numbers and managed to dominate no matter who was the quarterback. That’s significant and leads to the thought that Jones might be heading for a career year in 2020 with a healthy quarterback.
Marvin Jones Dominant for Lions in 2019
Seeing Jones exit with injury late in the 2019 season was tough. Jones was fantastic this past season for the Lions, and opposite Kenny Golladay, has been one of the top wideouts in the entire game. Last season, he’s put up 779 yards and 9 touchdowns, which are solid numbers for Detroit. More than that, he has given the Lions a formidable 1-2 punch with Golladay and has been very dependable this season.
Jones had to prove he could come back off last season’s knee injury which cost him the end of the 2018 season, and he was able to do that with a massive season thus far in 2019. It’s safe to say Jones will continue to put in the good work for the Lions and as a result, should be earning himself love.
Jones and the Lions aren’t off to the type of start they’d like, but perhaps with the help of their famous cardboard rooters, they will turn it around in the coming weeks.
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