Tensions have arisen between Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown
and Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay after St. Brown’s comments about a potential matchup between the two teams with fully healthy rosters. On his Big Play Slay podcast, Slay responded to St. Brown’s statement, which suggested that the Lions would have been more competitive against the Eagles if their defense had been at full strength.
Slay didn’t hold back in his reaction, saying, “I’m on a rampage now because here’s the thing. After we won, all I saw online was people saying, ‘Oh, we were this close to the Eagles.’ Our guy in Detroit, I love St. Brown, he’s a fantastic receiver, but I saw him say, ‘We’d have been different with a healthy defense,’ and all sorts of crazy stuff.” Slay continued, sharing his frustration with how the Eagles’ victories are often downplayed, adding that it reminded him of the criticism the Kansas City Chiefs received in their successful years.
The seasoned Eagles cornerback made it clear that his team doesn’t make excuses for losses. “We took our loss like champs and moved on,” Slay said, noting that the Eagles never blamed external factors like the field conditions. “You didn’t hear us complain about, ‘The field was slippery,’ we just took it like men because they put on their shoes just like we did.”
Addressing St. Brown’s desire for a rematch in 2025, Slay was adamant that no other team had come close to matching the Eagles’ dominance in the 2024-25 season. “For those teams that think they were close to us, I’m like, ‘Nah, not the 2024-25 Eagles. No one was close.’ That’s why the scores were what they were when we played other teams,” Slay stated.
Slay firmly believes that the 2025 Lions won’t be able to defeat the Eagles, regardless of the result. “That team is not going to beat this team,” Slay said confidently. “Win, lose, or draw, you can talk about what might have happened last year, but no, it wouldn’t have been the same outcome because it’s a different team now.”
He also pointed out the ever-changing nature of NFL rosters, particularly with free agency around the corner. “The team won’t be the same. People are gonna leave, others will get paid, free agency is coming, and things will look different,” he said, emphasizing that the Eagles’ roster will change for the 2025 season.
While one might speculate that a fully healthy Lions team could have beaten the Washington Commanders to reach the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles, it’s unlikely they would have overcome the Super Bowl Champion Eagles. However, the two teams are set to face each other at some point during the 2025 regular season, and when they do, it’s bound to be an exciting matchup.
Tags: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Darius Slay
