A Lions player who went to Carol City High just had one of his best games in his hometown

Talk about a homecoming game for Ricky Jean Francois.

The Detroit Lions defensive tackle, a Miami native and Carol City High alumnus, had one of the best games of his 10-year NFL career against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, sacking Miami quarterback Brock Osweiler twice in Detroit’s 31-22 win at Hard Rock Stadium.

The last time Jean Francois, 31, had a sack came in the 2016 season.

The last time he had a multi-sack game: Nov. 24, 2013, against the Arizona Cardinals when he was a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

Jean Francois remembers that day well.

“Robert Mathis made me do the peanut butter and jelly (dance),” he said. “I remember that game. We played Arizona. We got a second sack and Robert Mathis told me, ‘you better do it.’ I was like ‘but we are losing.’ ‘Do it.’ Alright, cool.’ I did it.”

Jean Francois has had a steady career after being drafted in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

Over the course of 10 seasons with six teams, Jean Francois has played in 127 career games and has recorded 179 tackles, 14 sacks, 10 pass deflections and three forced fumbles.

But Sunday was his first regular-season game back in Miami during his NFL career.

And he played a key role in helping the Lions keep the Dolphins offense at bay early. Detroit went into halftime up 17-7 before giving up two touchdown drives in the second half.

“We keep showing ourselves we can be that team but when it comes to that second half, around that third quarter, that’s when we slow down,” Jean Francois said. “The team that you see in the first and the second (is) probably one of the best teams in the league. When we get to that third quarter, we slow down. In the fourth quarter, we have to fight to keep getting back in that position. We have to find a way to become that consistent team in the third and fourth quarter. We have the first half together, now we have to get the second half together.”

This story was originally published October 21, 2018 at 7:28 PM.