FRISCO, Texas -- As the clock hit triple zeros in the Dallas Cowboys' 20-17 road win at the Pittsburgh Steelers early on Monday morning, cornerback Jourdan Lewis scooped up the fumbled football and skipped past Pittsburgh's No 1. wide receiver George Pickens.
Lewis contributed to holding Pickens to a season-low 26 receiving yards and in frustration, Pickens yanked an unexpecting Lewis down to the ground by his facemask. He held Pickens to jut two catches for five yards as the nearest defender in Week 5.
The Cowboys cornerback views that action by Pickens as a sign of breaking the wide receiver's will.
"That's what football is about, honestly," Lewis said on Wednesday. "Being tough and going out and out-willing the opponent. That's what I go out there and try to do every single time I step out there."
That's something he relishes.
"It's fun, yeah," Lewis said when asked if he likes getting chippy with opponents.
Dallas' nickel corner is the owner of the Cowboys' highest Pro Football Focus coverage grade (81.3), and the seventh-highest among all NFL corners, minimum 100 snaps played in 2024. He's walking the walk while talking the talk.
"JLew is a tone-setter, always has been in my time here [since 2020]," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on Wednesday. "I think he's very, very valuable in the locker room and it carries onto the field, that's just his play style, super competitive, always has been. He's overcome that major injury, he's played as good as he has in our time together. A very well-respected man in our locker room."
His NFL coverage success in 2024 is an impressive feat considering Lewis is typically shorter and lighter than many of the players he defends, standing at 5-foot-10 while weighing 195 pounds.
"He's a tough little bugger and competitor," Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said on Monday. "Every time I say base personnel he kind of looks at me like he's mad. He says 'I can get in there with those big guys.' I say 'I know you can.' He's just a tough, tough competitor. Good leader. Works hard. In practice, he wants to make plays all the time. Just the kind of guy you really like to have. ... I call him a pit bull because he'll go in there and fight anybody. He'll mix it up."
A rivalry renewed
Revenge will be in the air at AT&T Stadium Sunday afternoon in Week 6 when the Cowboys (3-2) host the Detroit Lions (3-1), fresh off their Week 5 bye. These two teams faced off in Week 17 last season in a game that controversially ended with a 20-19 Dallas victory after the Lions attempted multiple, failed two-point conversion tries in an effort to win the game in regulation. Lewis will certainly be on the receiving end of the aforementioned vengeful energy after Detroit 2023 First-Team All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown brought up some beef he had with Lewis this summer on "The Pivot Podcast."
St. Brown said Lewis was "talking crazy, like some shit I've never heard before" during the game last year.
"He was talking crazy out of pocket," St. Brown said this summer ... "Even [Lions wideout Jameson Williams] heard it, too. He was coming in. At that point, it's like, I don't know what he's saying. I'm trying to make plays, win the game. I'm not worried about him. But once he starts talking like that, it's like, 'all right, if I do get a chance to kill him, I'm a kill him.'"
Lewis recalled those comments on Wednesday with a straight face.
"I just remember him going on a podcast trying to air me out. We're going to play each other, so we're going to see each other and we're going to have a game together," Lewis said. "We're going to see what's real and what's not."
When asked what he might have said to St. Brown, Lewis claimed to have no idea.
"Sometimes I just black out and go somewhere else. Just go somewhere with it," Lewis admitted. "If I said anything disrespectful [to an opposing receiver], I'll probably say it again."
Naturally, he's gearing up for another intense back-and-forth with the Lions All-Pro. It will be a popcorn worthy matchup: Lewis has allowed only 3.4 yards per target as the nearest defender in coverage this season, the second-fewest among 28 slot cornerbacks with at least 10 targets. Only Ravens safety Ar'Darius Washington's 3.3 yards per target in the slot is lower. St. Brown has been targeted more frequently than ever before in the slot -- a career-high 30.9% of his routes when aligned in the slot in 2024 -- but has averaged a career-low 5.9 yards per target, per NFL Pro Insights. St. Brown has amassed 14 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown on 21 targets on routes when he has aligned in the slot.
"I don't know, man," Lewis said with a laugh. "I just want to go out there and play good ball. If he brings the fight to me, then that's what it is. I just want to go out there and prepare. They're a good team, you can't lose your head going out there, making it a brawl. ... It's definitely going to be a good challenge. ... Whenever someone wants to be my antagonist, I don't like that."
The 29-year-old Detroit native and University of Michigan alum has antagonized his hometown team more than any other. Lewis intercepted Lions quarterback Jared Goff in Cowboys wins in both the 2022 and 2023 season, and his two picks against Detroit are his most against any team in his eight-year NFL career.
"I love it, honestly," Lewis said of the matchup against Detroit's high-powered receivers in St. Brown and Williams. "Like I said, I want to challenge people's will. I feel like that's a core concept of their team too. Honestly, just going out there and seeing whose will is better."