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Penei Sewell Had a Simple Message for Lions' Doubters

Lions' standout lineman hasn't lost confidence.

Kyle Koster

Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell (58) and the rest of the Lions offense wait in the tunnel to take the field for their game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field.
Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell (58) and the rest of the Lions offense wait in the tunnel to take the field for their game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
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The Detroit Lions are dealing with more adversity than a 12-2 team typically has to navigate. Their defense has been completely devastated by injury and running back David Montgomery has also been sidelined by what's shaping up to be historic bad luck. In a matter of weeks we'll know if the Lions are the No. 1 seed in the NFC or if they dropped all the way down to the No. 5 spot. Meaning that even though things went really well for three months, all of those good vibes could be completely extinguished. Considering how things have played out over the past 75 years or so, there's some intrinsic gloom and doom baked into the situation — even for fans who finally have a legitimate team to support.

Standout offensive tackle Penei Sewell was asked about this mindset, which has been growing as the sidelined players stack up. His answer? Jump off this bandwagon at your own peril.

"The real fans, they gonna stick down through whatever," Sewell said. "And if you wanna keep questioning, then go ahead and just hop off. You'll see what happens."

Sewell's confidence echoes that of Campbell, who cut a great promo on local radio earlier this week.

The Lions look to get back to their winning ways on Sunday against the Bears in Chicago. There's a lot of people liquidating their position right now, and a lot of earned noise around what could go wrong. Which means it's the perfect time to buy the dip.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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