In Week 18 against the Minnesota Vikings, tasked primarily with covering Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, Detroit Lions cornerback Amik Robertson stepped up big. Jefferson had a couple notable plays, but overall he finished the game with just three catches for 54 yards.
Jefferson only seeing seven targets on Sam Darnold's 41 pass attempts is a testament to what Robertson was doing in coverage.
During the Lions' postgame celebration, head coach Dan Campbell gave Robertson a game ball for his performance. Robertson then offered a quote that he has indeed put on a t-shirt (and sweatshirts, etc.).
"They can't bury what comes from the (bleeping) dirt."
From the moment he was signed last March, Robertson has professed and proven his fit with the Lions. The shining moment of his first season with the team might well be last Sunday night, with all that was on the line and who he embraced going against all game long.
"I’ve been anxious for this opportunity for so long,” Robertson said after the game. “Everything I did out there I expected. I knew I was going to play that way. The only thing kind of was shocking (was) that I got Player of the Game. I never got one of those, man, that was an unreal feeling.”
Thursday night, the Lions released an extended cut of the postgame locker room celebration after the win over the Vikings. It's extended on the front end of what we usually see from Campbell and afterward.
Robertson got an NBC game ball on the field after the game, so it looks like he was the last player to enter the locker room. He was visibly emotional walking in, even if he expected to perform the way he did.
Amik Robertson had cool moment in Lions' postgame locker room after win over Vikings
The whole video is worth watching, but Robertson walks in about the 1:05 mark.
Check it out:
Robertson first gets a big bear hug from Dan Campbell. Then you can see the emotion of the moment take him over as Terrion Arnold is next in line to embrace him, with general manager Brad Holmes and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn nearby.
With the Lions, Robertson has found a couple things he did not have to start his career with the Las Vegas Raiders-opportunity (nine starts over his first three seasons with the Raiders), and a winning environment. He knew he'd be a fit when he entered free agency, the feeling was mutual and it has been shown over the course of the season.