Irvin a hit — literally — in Lions debut: 'I know what I'm capable of'
Dave Birkett
NEW ORLEANS — The Detroit Lions found a spark for their inconsistent pass rush Sunday, and it came from the oldest player on their roster.
Bruce Irvin had his first sack of the season in his first NFL game in almost 11 months to help lead the Lions to a 33-28 win over the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome.
"I came into this league with a chip on my shoulder and I always felt like through my 12 years I never got the respect that I was due," Irvin said. "So to me, I just have to keep proving, keep proving. Every opportunity I get I’m going to keep proving, keep proving. Proving them wrong but proving myself right. So it’s just something in me, just keep that edge to make me work hard and continue to push forward and continue to play like I’m 25."
Irvin sacked Saints quarterback Derek Carr midway through Sunday's first quarter, on one of his first plays as a Lion.
The 36-year-old pass rusher signed with the Lions practice squad last month, but was inactive the past two games as he worked his way into game shape.
He had 31⁄2 sacks in 11 regular season games with the Seattle Seahawks last season, but went unsigned in free agency and drew minimal interested from around the NFL until the Lions offered him a contract after the trade deadline.
"Felt like he was able to pressure the quarterback," Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "He was able to get an edge a couple times and certainly there’s something there. I mean, certainly there’s something there. He’s got something and like I say, he’s been working and he’s got in better shape over the last three weeks, so I’m anxious to watch the whole thing. I saw from afar what you guys saw, but I wasn’t just honed in on him every play, either. But it’s encouraging, I know that."
Irvin played mostly as a situational pass rusher Sunday for a Lions defense with wildly varying sack totals this season.
The Lions (9-3) have three games with five or more sacks and four games without. They had two sacks in their previous three games combined entering Sunday, and zero first-half sacks since late September.
"That’s what he added, 10 years of experience," Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill said. "That’s exactly what he added. He looked like a master out there . ... Bruce looks like Bruce Irvin still. You wouldn't think he was that old, honestly. You would think Bruce had just came into the league the way he moves."
Along with his sack, Irvin made a big hit on Carr in the fourth quarter that knocked the Saints quarterback out of the game on New Orleans' final drive with back and shoulder injuries and a concussion.
Jameis Winston, Carr's replacement, threw three incomplete passes to open receivers on the drive to give the ball back to the Lions, who were able to run off the final 2:56.
Irvin said he expects to get "a nice FedEx in the mail" for the hit.
“I know what I was going to do, I know what I'm capable of," he said. "It makes me happy of course. But at the end of the day, it’s about the win. It ain’t about me, it’s about we came out here in a hostile environment and we got this win and we’re taking it back to Detroit, get ready for the Bears next week."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.