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Chuck Clark Gets Candid About Strip-Sack That Sealed Lions Win
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- Chuck Clark Gets Candid About Strip-Sack That Sealed Lions Win
Chuck Clark knew what was coming.
More importantly, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with the opportunity.
With the Detroit Lions protecting a 31-24 lead late in Sunday's win over the New York Jets , defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard sent Clark after Geno Smith . The veteran defensive back didn't simply get to the quarterback.
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He attacked the football.
Clark's strip-sack ended New York's final possession when Jack Campbell recovered the loose ball, allowing Detroit to kneel out a win that improved the Lions to 2-1.
Afterward, Clark revealed that knocking the ball loose wasn't a happy accident.
"I mean, I always want the ball, for sure," Clark said. "As a pass rusher, every time I try to get in there, when I'm simulating that by myself, I always think, try to hit the ball as well."
One play. One turnover. Game over.
But Clark had been preparing for that moment long before Sheppard called his number.
Chuck Clark strip-sack
Chuck Clark Has Studied How to Attack the Football
Clark isn't a traditional pass rusher, which makes what he said next even more interesting.
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The veteran safety explained that he has sought advice from defensive linemen and former teammates about how they attack quarterbacks from different angles.
"I've asked a couple of our D-line guys and guys that I've been around in the past, when they're coming from certain sides, how do they go for the ball?" Clark said. "So, that's always the thing. Get the ball, change the game."
Mission accomplished.
Clark finished Sunday's 31-24 victory with the decisive defensive play after the Jets had erased a 24-10 deficit and threatened to do it again following Jahmyr Gibbs ' go-ahead touchdown.
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Detroit needed one stop.
Sheppard trusted Clark to help provide it.
That ending carried additional significance for a defense that had spent the previous week answering questions after allowing 41 points against Buffalo .
Clark wasn't interested in making the moment more complicated than it needed to be.
'Do Your Job'
Asked what went through his mind when the final defensive call came in, Clark's answer was considerably shorter than his explanation of the technique.
"Do your job at the end of the day," Clark said. "Do your job, and all the extra that comes with it comes with it."
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That's essentially what happened.
Clark was sent after Smith. He got there. Then the work he'd put into attacking the football turned a sack into something considerably more valuable.
Detroit recovered.
Aidan Hutchinson was so appreciative of Clark's play that after Campbell emerged from the pile with the football, Hutchinson made sure the game ball ended up with Clark .
"We sent some pressure on that last one," Hutchinson said afterward. "Chuck came up, strip-sacked to win the game. It's the best feeling ever. So, I had to give that ball to him."
The Lions needed a closer.
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Clark became one.
Clark's Leadership Showing Up for Lions
The final play also provided a glimpse of why Clark has quickly become an important veteran presence in Detroit's secondary.
Derrick Barnes described Clark as a player who doesn't say much but has earned respect through the way he works and prepares .
Clark's own description wasn't much different.
Detroit's defense wasn't perfect against New York. The Jets scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase a 14-point deficit, and Clark acknowledged afterward that there were "some ups, some downs here and there."
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But when the game reached its defining defensive snap, the Lions didn't need perfection.
They needed someone to make a play.
Sheppard called the pressure. Clark got the assignment.
"Coach just called one up for me to go get it," Clark said. "I kind of tipped my hat a little early, but hey, opened up and we've got to go make plays when coach calls your number."
His number was called.
Clark did his job.
The extra that came with it was a game-winning turnover.
