DETROIT -- Quarterback Jared Goff shared a laugh with his rookie wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown as they crossed paths at the doorway of the postgame interview room inside Ford Field.
The Detroit Lions teammates were looking for the best way to describe their second-quarter connection, which resulted in a 37-yard touchdown.
That play would help set the tone for Sunday’s 30-12 upset win over the Arizona Cardinals.
“A lot of teams run it. What do we call it?” Goff asked St. Brown before telling media members. “It’s called a sneak, but he said I can’t tell you.”
That play was installed just last week by the coaching staff. Against the Cardinals, the first-year receiver blocked down on one of the defensive ends to take the zone defense off him. Then, he slipped across the line undetected before Goff hit him for a wide-open touchdown.
St. Brown would go on to become the first rookie in Lions history to catch at least eight passes in three consecutive games, finishing with eight catches for 90 yards and one touchdown.
He now owns the team record for most receptions in a season by a rookie with 65, topping former running back Jahvid Best’s 58 in 2010.
He also became the third rookie in team history to register 70 or more receiving yards in three straight games, joining Dorne Dibble (1951) and Earl McCullouch (1968).
“I’m really confident right now. I think confidence is one of the biggest things in this sport,” St. Brown said. “There’s guys out there that you know can play but their confidence level isn’t just up there, so I think confidence is huge, and my confidence is high right now and I’m going to keep going with it. Keep doing what they want me to do, keep making plays and keep getting these [wins].”
Although St. Brown was already confident entering the season, his game-winning touchdown catch against Minnesota on Dec. 5 has lifted him even more.
One of the Lions' biggest questions dating back to training camp was who would emerge among the receiving corps. St. Brown has done just that.
“I think it’s really fulfilling. I don’t really read all the media, but obviously, you hear some of it. You can’t get away from it,” St. Brown said. “Like you said, the receiving corps was a problem, this, that and the other, but we knew as a group, we knew we can play. We knew we can make the plays, and I think it was a culmination of everyone getting together ... quarterbacks, everyone being on time and just everything as a group, eliminating penalties. There’s so much that goes into it, and as you guys can see, once you do things right, it starts to click."
The Lions will need St. Brown to continue his production, notably in the absence of Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson. St. Brown's timing on routes with Goff throughout the season, such as the "sneak" route against Arizona, is one of the main areas he's grown from training camp to now.
“I’ll say it again, he’s a stud,” Goff said of St. Brown. "We’ve known it since training camp. Finally getting him involved quite a bit now. I thought the route on the touchdown was just so perfect. It’s such a unique route that only some guys can run, and you have to have a good feel for the space and the game. He has all of that. We had him on a few choice routes today and we’re constantly talking on the sidelines. He’s really starting to learn. He’s really starting to pick it up and understand coverage, and understand where the holes are, and it’s really fun to play with him.”