Young Lions star eyes playoffs following ‘strong’ finish in 2022: ‘We’re not no walk-over team now’

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The Detroit Lions became a force towards the end of the 2022 season, winning eight of their final 10 games and for wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who finished his second year with a Pro Bowl nod, the goal for next season is clear: playoffs. 

St. Brown, a fourth round pick out of USC in 2021, told the Detroit Free Press last week that the Lions’ performance late last season created a reputation that they were now the team to beat – a reputation that comes with mixed emotions. 

Amon-Ra St. Brown, #14 of the Detroit Lions, avoids a tackle by Shaq Thompson, #7 of the Carolina Panthers, during the fourth quarter of the game at Bank of America Stadium on Dec. 24, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina.  (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

"I talk to other players, they told me like, ‘Man, you guys were rolling towards the end. We did not want to play you in the playoffs,’" St. Brown told the outlet. 

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"So teams know now. We’re not no walk-over team now. I think that’s just going to make it tougher for us this season, but it’s just going to make it more fun because I feel like teams sometimes in the past, my rookie year, they’d come into our stadium thinking it was just going to be an easy game for them they’re going to go win. And maybe that was the case, maybe it wasn’t."

He continued, "But I feel like moving forward for us, we got to know that teams are going to be on their A-game when they play us, so we’ll be ready for it."

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, #14, is tackled by Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, #97, during the second half of an