By the end of Monday night, the contrast was clear. The Ravens simply got outplayed by the Lions in a 38-30 loss. Yet, beyond the scoreboard, one moment stole the spotlight. Terrion Arnold and DeAndre Hopkins engaged in a little trash talk that had everyone watching.

Now, on Closed on Sundays with Pat and Terrion, Arnold opened up about what went down. “I’m talking to the ref. I’m like, ‘Come on, man. Like, everybody named Mama know this ain’t DPI (Defensive Pass Interference), man.’ Come on, man. This man hold hand in my face. He looked, he said, ‘You too small, boy.'”

And Arnold didn’t just brush it off. Instead, he fired back, letting Hopkins know he wasn’t intimidated. He also shared how he was ready for a 50-50 ball, hoping to make a big play, but Lamar Jackson threw elsewhere. That’s when Arnold called Hopkins by his nickname, and the reaction was priceless—Hopkins was surprised that Arnold even knew it. The banter continued with talk about All-Pro honors and league respect, showing a competitive edge without disrespect. Arnold emphasized the rivalry and gave nods to Hopkins’ skills: “It’s been in a competitive environment, man. Got a lot of respect for that dude right there.”

And in terms of football, Hopkins was quiet in Week 3. After scoring a touchdown in each of his first two games with the Ravens, he couldn’t find the end zone Monday night. Two targets again, just one catch for 13 yards, and minimal impact on fantasy radars. Fans at M&T Bank Stadium might have expected more, but they lacked bite, and they got called out for it.

Meanwhile, Jackson threw a season-high 37 passes, but Rashod Bateman was the only wideout with more than two targets. Tight end Mark Andrews carried the offense with six grabs for 91 yards and two scores. Hopkins remains too talented to ignore, yet his impact is unpredictable.

And while Arnold may have won that exchange with Hopkins (at least, that’s what it looks like from what the CB had to say), he still has issues that need work.

Terrion Arnold’s struggles may force Dan Campbell to look elsewhere

It’s been a rough start for Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold. He has been targeted often—22 times to be precise. He has allowed catches on 14 of those occasions. He is languishing at the bottom of the team with a 130.1 passer rating against, per NFL Next Gen stats, and allowed his second touchdown of the season in the game against the Ravens.

And while head coach Dan Campbell hasn’t given up on the young cornerback yet, he hinted that his snap count may go down. That’s where veteran Amik Robertson steps in.

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“Every young player, man, they have these ebbs and flows of their career or of a second year, things of that nature, and so he’s going be all right, man,” he said on his weekly interview on WXYT FM (97.1). “We’re just going to keep working through it. And look, we’ll probably use Amik on some stuff, too. Amik’s a good player, so we’re going to mix it up a little bit.” 

Robertson was on the field for 24 defensive snaps against Baltimore, lining up on 22 of them with Arnold and either D.J. Reed or Khalil Dorsey at outside corner. One of his standout showings came in last year’s Week 18 victory over Minnesota, when he limited Justin Jefferson to just 3 receptions for 54 yards.

Arnold may win all the trash-talking contests in the world, but he’d better get his football sorted sooner than later.