There wasn’t much positive to take away from the Detroit Lions’ 38-10 drubbing in Denver in Week 14. But the play of the offensive line in general and rookie right tackle Penei Sewell in particular, definitely deserve positive mention.
Sewell had a dominant game against the Broncos. Per Pro Football Focus, the big rookie allowed just two QB pressures in Denver in 42 pass plays. But where Sewell really thrived was in the run game. He earned the highest run blocking grade of any tackle in Week 14, and it catapulted Sewell to the highest overall grade of any OT for the week.
Sewell’s hot streak continued on Sunday. The 2021 seventh overall pick earned a 91.0 PFF grade against the Broncos in Week 14 — the highest of his rookie campaign by nearly 10 points. Sewell was clean in the run game and finished with a Week 14-leading 93.5 run-block grade.
Since Week 6, Sewell trails only Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers for the highest PFF grade among all NFL tackles. Through the first five weeks, Sewell ranked 50th of 65 qualifying tackles — so this is quite the turnaround from the rookie that entered the year with sky-high expectations.
Left tackle Taylor Decker ranked third amongst LTs with a 77.2 overall grade against the Broncos. Decker pitched a shutout in pass protection, not allowing a single QB pressure. A false start penalty kept Decker from being the top left tackle for Week 14. Right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai finished as the No. 5 RG on the week, too.
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