Eric Ebron on Landon Collins: 'I Was Pissed Off at That Little Punk of a Safety'

Eric Ebron wasn't in the mood to celebrate his seven-yard touchdown in the second quarter of the Detroit Lions' 24-10 win over the New York Giants on Monday night.

Instead, he simply flipped the ball in the air, still thinking about a big hit he had received from Giants safety Landon Collins on the previous possession.  

"I was pissed off," Ebron said, per Justin Rogers of the Detroit News. "I was pissed off at that little punk of a safety they’ve got over there."

He continued: "Collins, he played a good game, that hit just pissed me off and I didn’t feel like celebrating. I wasn’t in that kind of joyful mood. It was still a good game. He played his butt off trying to guard me. I commend him for that."

The two had words for each other after the score and had to be separated.

"I just told him good hit," Ebron told Rogers, smiling. "He may have said some other things, but it’s cool." 

Collins later responded, via James Kratch of NJ.com.

"He got a touchdown. I guess he thought he scored on me. He did not. Like I said, he didn't catch any balls or have any yards on me. I guess he didn't like the hit I laid on him. It's the game of football. I'm not going to play soft for nobody. I'm going to hit you. If I can see you and square you up, I'm going to hit you. That's what you're going to get, and that's what he got."

Ebron, 24, had a solid game, catching five passes for 42 yards and a score. That followed a quiet opening contest in which he catch just two passes for nine yards against the Arizona Cardinals.

While Ebron had his best season in 2016, catching 61 passes for 711 yards and a touchdown, he hasn't become the dominant playmaker the Lions were hoping for when they drafted him 10th overall in 2014. 

On the other hand, the Lions haven't always put Ebron in the best position to succeed, per Mike Clay of ESPN: 

Now in his fourth year, expectations are high for Ebron. Monday was a good indication of his talent, and he'll be tasked with getting the better of every punk safety he faces for the rest of the season.