Detroit Lions rookie Jamal Agnew still earning his stripes after big punt-return TD

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – They swarmed him in the end zone and again on the sideline, and all of Jamal Agnew’s teammates had the same fun-loving message for the man who clinched the Lions’ 24-10 win over the New York Giants on Monday night.

“You’re still a rook,” Agnew said. “Still got to earn my stripes.”

Agnew returned a Brad Wing punt 88 yards for the decisive touchdown early in the fourth quarter as the Lions improved to 2-0 on the season.

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He became the first Lions rookie to score on a punt return since Eddie Drummond in 2002, and his highlight-reel return was the fifth longest in franchise history.

“First of all, it looked like it was going to go the other way cause it was a heck of a punt,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “But it just kind of gave him enough room to get started up the sideline and he found a crease. One of the things you notice about this guy is that he’s got quickness and speed, and anytime you can take a return that far in the National Football League without getting caught from behind, you got a little bit of a motor going for you.”

Agnew made a shoestring catch on Wing’s 60-yard punt after retreating to his own 12-yard line, then sidestepped the first Giants defender downfield before it was off to the races.

He cut back on long snapper Zak DeOssie around the 21-yard line, spun off a Rhett Ellison tackle a few yards later, then cut back again past a lunging Wing as he raced untouched down the far sideline.

“I know the punter’s going to be unblocked and the long snapper’s going to be unblocked,” Agnew said. “The long snapper was (No.) 51, so I’m looking for 51, I’m looking for (No.) 9 (Wing). Fifty-one was the first one to come at me, I broke his tackle and I looked up, I knew the punter was going to be coming and luckily my instincts just helped me make a good cut.

“If you get tackled by a punter you can’t be returning back there, so I didn’t want to let that happen.”

Agnew’s return broke open a 17-10 game and gave the Lions enough cushion to hold off a moribund Giants offense.

“That was the biggest turning point in the game in my opinion,” guard T.J. Lang said. “It kind of deflated them a little bit, so yeah, hell of a job.”

Caldwell said he saw glimpses of big-play ability during training camp from Agnew, the Lions' fifth-round pick, "just in terms of his quickness and ability to catch it and run."

Some of Agnew's teammates saw it, too, though in front of the "Rook" they'd never let on.

"He's really confident," receiver Marvin Jones said. "You can see that and it's great to have him because that was a big play."

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Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!