Ex-Patriots back Dion Lewis brushes off last year’s trash talk as ‘fun and games’
NASHVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 11: Dion Lewis of the Tennessee Titans runs with the ball during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Nissan Stadium. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
Nobody was happier to hand the 2018 New England Patriots a loss than Titans running back Dion Lewis.
Feeling disrespected by Bill Belichick’s decision to move on from him after three seasons with the Patriots, Lewis opted for a four-year, $20 million deal with the Titans, and immediately circled a Nov. 11 contest against the Patriots on his calendar. And when the Titans stomped New England by way of a 34-10 final in that meeting, Lewis wasted absolutely no time making his feelings on the Patriots known to any and everybody with a working microphone.
“That’s what happens when you go cheap,” Lewis said. “You get your ass kicked.
“I didn’t have to prove anything. I know I can play. I just had to let our team know that these guys are beatable,” Lewis continued. “I know those guys. I know that you be physical with them & let ’em have it and they’ll fold.”
Lewis then took to Twitter for some extra laughs at the Patriots’ expense.
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— Dion Lewis (@DionLewisRB) November 11, 2018
— Dion Lewis (@DionLewisRB) November 11, 2018
But with the teams together for joint practices ahead of their Saturday night preseason head-to-head in Nashville, Lewis acknowledged the ‘fun and games’ that is talking trash, and the competitive edge everybody wants to set for their team.
“They know it’s all fun and games; Just competitive. Guys are out here talking trash,” Lewis said after Wednesday’s joint practice. “That’s what you do, when you go against somebody, you talk trash, you compete and you just try to get better. So that’s just what it is– when you’re on the field, you’ve gotta have that mindset.
“Just having fun.”
In other words, the past is the past.
But Lewis also knows that while he had some November bragging rights over the Patriots, it was New England who indeed had the last laugh (as always, it seems), as they won yet another Super Bowl just two and a half months later. (The Titans, meanwhile, went on to win four of their next seven games en route to a did-not-qualify season.)
“They won a Super Bowl, what am I supposed to say? They won a Super Bowl so it don’t really matter,” Lewis admitted. “Just honored to be out here with [the Patriots] working so guys on our team get to see how they work, how a championship level [team] works. It’s just great for our guys to go against that.”
