Jerry Jacobs to Critics: 'I Just Laugh at Them'

The Lions' defense held Atlanta to just six points in Sunday's win.

After a difficult showing last week against the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs arrived to Ford Field motivated and ready to prove his abilities against Atlanta. 

The third-year cornerback dealt with haters online following his struggles against Seattle's physical wideouts. He responded in a big way Sunday, helping the Detroit defense limit Atlanta's offense to just six points. 

Jacobs, who finished with seven tackles but was called for pass interference in the third quarter, responded after Sunday's game to the naysayers he'd seen in the days leading up to the matchup. 

"They ain't watching football, they just talking," Jacobs explained. "Obviously, if I ain't give up a touchdown on a pass play or I don't give up a big ole' bomb, they not watching football. They just see a pass interference and think, 'Oh, he's a bum.' Nah, bro, it's football. Everything's gonna happen like that. I don't look at it. I just laugh at them, because they're not watching football, to be honest. The real fans gonna know, so shoutout to them." 

The Arkansas State product has started all three of the Lions' games this season. Free-agent signing Emmanuel Moseley is expected to debut in the coming weeks, which will create a competition at the position opposite starting cornerback Cam Sutton. 

Though Jacobs knows the odds are against him, he remains motivated to be the best player he can be. And, even if that involves tuning out the negativity that players often come across on social media. 

"I just look at it and laugh, because I know what I know. They're just looking," Jacobs stated. "The real people who know who I am and know what I did to get here and what I'm doing to keep getting better, they know. So, I just look at it and laugh at them. They can keep going, that (expletive) just keep bringing me up. You seen the type of game I had today. All that talking they did last week." 

Sunday's game was a statement by Detroit's defense. After notching just one sack in the first two games, Aaron Glenn's group had seven against Atlanta. 

Jacobs proclaimed that what was on display Sunday was the true identity of Detroit's defensive unit. 

"That's the real. We gonna keep showing up, we gonna keep progressing and keep getting better," the cornerback said. "We gonna celebrate today for this. We're not happy about giving up six points, we want zero on the board. We just gonna get ready for next Thursday, and go to Green Bay and go get that."