Amik Robertson didn’t need long to make his presence felt against the Lions.
On the second play from scrimmage in Saturday’s preseason meeting at Ford Field, the former Detroit cornerback came flying in on quarterback Joshua Dobbs, delivered the hit and forced a fumble. Linebacker Joshua Josephs finished the play by recovering the ball in the end zone, and the Commanders were suddenly up 0-7 after the extra point.
That was Robertson’s one big swing of the night, and it was enough to stick. The sack and forced fumble were the only stats he put up, but they gave Washington its lone touchdown in Detroit’s 17-13 victory. It was the kind of snapshot play that turns heads fast, especially from a defender who spent two seasons earning praise from Lions fans for his edge and effort.
Dobbs never looked comfortable after that. Brock Wright tried to slow Robertson down before slipping into space, but the quarterback was dealing with pressure from multiple directions and ended up running right into the hit. The next drive didn’t go much better for Washington, either, as safety Quan Martin picked off Dobbs, a rough sign for his QB2 outlook.
Detroit’s defense, meanwhile, kept the rest of the Commanders from building on the early spark. Jayden Daniels and the Washington offense were held in check, and the Lions were able to grind out the win.
Robertson’s forced fumble also fit into an odd preseason note for Detroit: through two exhibition games, the Lions’ offense has now given up as many touchdowns as the defense.
For all the “revenge game” talk around the matchup, Robertson hasn’t sounded bitter about his exit from Detroit. Speaking to the media this week, he looked back on his time with the Lions and said, "When I think about it, Detroit was a team that really helped me find myself again, right? A team that believed in me, a team that put me on a bigger stage and believed in me."
He also drew a comparison between Commanders coach Dan Quinn and Dan Campbell, calling both "player's coaches." Robertson described Quinn as more of a "smooth criminal" while contrasting him with Campbell’s more visible toughness, even pantomiming the difference with a straight-faced flex.
Quinn had to like what he got from Robertson on that opening burst. Campbell, for his part, could at least take comfort in this: it was one of the few bright spots Washington managed all day.
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