Darius Slay and Keenan Allen battled all afternoon in Ford Field. One of the NFL’s best wide receivers and one of the best cornerbacks spent most of the day locked against one another, mano a mano.
Allen won a lot of the battles. The Pro Bowler caught eight passes on 15 targets from Philip Rivers, netting 98 yards. Nearly all those catches came at Slay’s expense, many on crossing routes. He also drew three penalties (one declined) on Slay.
Slay won the war, however. His late interception saved the game for the Lions in their home opener.
After the game, Slay was asked about matching up against Allen.
“Oh man, he’s top five,” Slay said without hesitation. “He’s one of the best our here, best in the game. We were battling, back-and-forth, back-and-forth. (He) caught a couple passes, I made a couple breakups. We know each other personally. We came out (in the draft) together. It was a good battle. Good, friendly battle. We already knew what time it was. I was looking forward to this matchup just as much as he was. Now I just wish him the best the rest of this season.”
Allen even chipped in on a Twitter thread where several Lions players were praising Slay for living up to his “Big Play” nickname with the critical interception:
