It happened in one of Sunday’s early games, but unless an offensive lineman catches a touchdown pass in any of the late Sunday or Monday night games, Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell’s nine-yard catch to seal his team’s win over the Minnesota Vikings? We’re calling that the Play of Week 14.
It wasn’t just that Sewell made a great catch on the throw from Jared Goff; it was also that he was sent in motion to do it. Now, THAT’s sneaky.
Let’s go @peneisewell58!!!
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) December 11, 2022
It was also that, a few plays before, the Lions sent Sewell in motion as a receiver from a stack formation. The result was a one-yard run by Jamaal Williams, but it does make you think.
If it makes us think, it also makes Lions head coach Dan Campbell think, as he said after the 34-23 win — Detroit’s fifth win in its last six games.
Coach Campbell on @peneisewell58's third-down conversion pic.twitter.com/kYXQwM44qF
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 11, 2022
“We were prepared. It was part of a package that we could use in the red zone if needed. It felt like that was the right time to bring it out. We had good practice reps with it, you know, and we’d used him earlier in that fast motion. So, we felt really good about it being there. Because when you see him coming, you’re not going to think that he’s just going to the flat. He’s going to block you one more time, like he did before.
“It was a great call. We trusted him — look. We know what kind of athlete he is. He’s a phenomenal athlete. Who knows what kind of tackle he’s gonna be? A pretty good one, he already is. But he could be a Hall of Fame tight end, in my opinion, too — if he was to lose a little bit of weight.
“He’s got real good hands. He’s got real good feet. We felt like he was going to be wide open, which he was. We told him, ‘Stay in bounds,’ and he did.”
It looks like Campbell’s joking at the end there, but he’s also an unconventional coach — and he was a tight end in the NFL with the Giants, Cowboys, and Lions from 1999 through 2008. So, maybe he’s got something more in mind for his 2021 seventh-overall pick from Oregon.
Here’s what we know — we want to see what that red zone package looks like, so we can add a Penei Sewell score to our list of THICC-SIX touchdowns.
