EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – James Ihedigbo was able to whip out his favorite celebration.

In his season debut against one of his old teams, Ihedigbo strip-sacked Geno Smith in the fourth quarter, ending a potential scoring drive and allowing Ihedigbo to make a big play for the first time in 2014.

“That’s the GraveDigger,” Ihedigbo said. “That’s the Digg right there. Lions fans can look forward to seeing that.”

Ihedigbo blitzed and overloaded the Jets offensive line. Smith held the ball like the Lions expected, allowing Ihedigbo to rush in and make the play.

Ihedigbo had waited three weeks for a moment like this as he recovered from a neck injury that ended up being more fickle than he expected. He was finally fully cleared earlier this week and practiced fully throughout the week.

At that point he knew he would play and said after he made it through the game feeling good, yet another positive sign in his progression this season. The five tackles and the sack certainly helped.

Earlier in the week, Ihedigbo said he was excited to face his former team, but didn’t want to make the week about him. That he made a big play definitely felt good, though.

Ihedigbo had spent his first three seasons with the Jets, playing on two of Rex Ryan’s teams that made AFC Championship games. He played mostly special teams then but had 20 defensive tackles between the regular season and playoffs in those three years.

“Been biting at the bit to be able to get out there,” Ihedigbo said. “To be able to get out there and play and have an impact, it’s just a solid day’s work.”