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Jared Goff after Lions punked by Packers: 'I’m behind what I believe is the best' NFL OL
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- Jared Goff after Lions punked by Packers: 'I’m behind what I believe is the best' NFL OL
Colby Sorsdal grew up watching Thanksgiving football , so his first taste of it as a player was bittersweet.
Sorsdal, a fifth-round pick out of William & Mary , made his second career start at left guard Thursday in place of the injured Jonah Jackson but was benched late in the first half of the Detroit Lions ' 29-22 loss to the Green Bay Packers .
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"It's really hard," Sorsdal told a small group of reporters after the game. "You grow up watching Thanksgiving football your whole life and to kind of just go out there (and not) do what you know that you're capable of is hard."
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson shakes hands with rookie offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal during warmups before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023.
Sorsdal was pulled on the Lions' final drive of the first half due to what he called "a mix of things."
The rookie gave up an inside pressure to Kenny Clark on Goff 's first fumble; Goff stepped up in the pocket to avoid the pressure and fumbled when Rashan Gary hit him from behind.
And on the drive before he was benched, Sorsdal got beat for a sack by Gary on a stunt up the middle, and allowed a run stuff to Devonte Wyatt on a second-and-4 play.
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Kayode Awosika replaced Sorsdal for the final drive of the first half and finished out the game.
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"It's tough to kind of accept that," Sorsdal said. "It's a tough pill to swallow but I obviously support whatever the coaches think and what's best for the team."
Collectively, the Lions played perhaps their worst game of the season as an offensive line Thursday . They allowed 12 quarterback hits and three sacks, and Goff lost three fumbles that Sorsdal said the unit takes blame for.
The group's struggles were wide-ranging. Tackles Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker allowed drive-stalling pressures, and Awosika whiffed on a block on a tight end screen that went for a 2-yard loss.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff stands at the line of scrimmage and talks to teammates before a play against the Green Bay Packers during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023.
But Lions coach Dan Campbell said some of those issues were a product of game script.
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"Look, I thought the O-line's playing pretty good with the exception of a couple things that happened," Campbell said. "You don't particularly want to go in the game and feel like we're in all-pass mode. You become very predictable. That's hard on the O-line and that's really (where) a lot of the issues came up. But we made a couple moves today as the game went on. We'll see where Jonah's at (next week), but I think the rest of those guys are playing pretty good."
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Jackson has missed five games this season with wrist and ankle injuries, but has been one of the Lions' best linemen when on the field.
The Lions (8-3) have started eight different groups up front in their 11 games.
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"I'm behind what I believe is the best group in the league and those guys rushed well today, they did," Goff said. "They rushed well and did a good job. I don't point at our O-line for the reason of that at all. Probably could've got rid of the ball quicker on some of those as well. But yeah, it's just some days, those guys rush pretty well and they did."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him @davebirkett .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Colby Sorsdal benched as Detroit Lions OL punked by Packers
