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Lions S Kerby Joseph not worried about criticism from low hit: 'Used to being the villain'
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- Lions S Kerby Joseph not worried about criticism from low hit: 'Used to being the villain'
Matthew Stafford had some choice words for Kerby Joseph on the field Sunday, calling the Detroit Lions safety "dirty as (expletive)" after he laid a big hit on Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee .
Joseph heard worse from people on social media after the game, but three days later the second-year defensive back insisted he was unaffected by the vitriol being thrown his way and not inclined to change the way he plays.
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"I'm cool," Joseph told the Free Press on Wednesday. "I'm used to being the villain."
Joseph, who led the Lions with four interceptions for the second time in as many seasons, hit Higbee low on his right leg to break up a pass over the middle in the fourth quarter of the Lions' playoff win over the Rams last week .
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) celebrates a play against the L.A. Rams during the second half of the NFL wild-card playoff game at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan, 14, 2024.
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The hit helped stall the Rams' final drive — Stafford completed a short pass on second down, but threw incomplete on third down after a penalty and the Lions ran the final 4:07 off the clock after a punt to win their first playoff game in 32 years — but also left Higbee with a torn ACL that could keep him out for the start of next season.
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In the Lions' NFC North-clinching win over the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Eve, Joseph delivered a similar blow that left tight end T.J. Hockenson with a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee.
Joseph, a former teammate of Hockenson's with the Lions, took to social media late Sunday to say he had no intention to hurt Higbee . And while he declined to speak extensively about the hits Wednesday, he reiterated he "just wanted to go make a tackle, really."
"People are going to say what they say," Joseph said. "I'm just here to do my job."
T.J. Hockenson of the Minnesota Vikings is tackled by Kerby Joseph of the Detroit Lions during the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023.
Joseph downplayed his on-field confrontation with Stafford, who spent several seconds yelling at Joseph as trainers tended to Higbee.
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Joseph said he wasn't sure if Stafford was mad at the hit or his celebration after the play, when he flew in like a missile from his deep safety position then got up, flexed and slapped five with teammate Levi Onwuzurike as Higbee was on the ground writhing in pain.
"To be honest, I don't really know," Joseph said. "It was the quickest thing so I don't even know what his intentions was for real. On the celebration part, I wasn't celebrating that I hurt him. I kind of didn't really peep that he was hurt for real. But like I said, prayers out to that boy and his family. Like the game we play, just stuff happens."
Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone responded to Joseph's social media post Monday, writing the hit was "how the league office asks us to tackle."
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Lions coach Dan Campbell also defended Joseph's tackling Wednesday.
"That's how we play football here," Campbell said. "Just keep your head up, see what you hit. That'll always be what I tell Kerby. Just keep your eyes up so you don't hit on the crown of your helmet and you hit a spine, you mess yourself up there. Just see what you hit. But no, I mean we're — he's going for the thigh board and staying away from the head and we're — that's how we play defense here. We're not dirty. It's just, we hit."
As for Joseph, he said his focus is on Sunday's divisional playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .
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"Straight tunnel vision," Joseph said. "Like I said before, they got a good offense going on, we just got to get our defense together and just handle up on those guys."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Detroit Lions' Kerby Joseph won't change approach after big hits
