All Detroit Lions fans really want for Christmas is their offensive line to stay in one piece. Week 1 against the Chiefs was the first time we saw that line come together and be fully healthy at the same time. They looked really good. Now things are in flux. 

Starting left tackle Taylor Decker left Arrowhead Stadium in a walking boot on Thursday and now he's missed the first practice of the week. There's still time for Decker to get back to good and play on Sunday, but if he can't, it's Matt Nelson's show. 

Can Nelson handle it? That's a hard question to answer. The fourth year tackle has started for the Lions in the past, let's revisit how that went. 

 Nelson came in and started at right tackle for the Lions for 11 games in 2021. He did that becasue the Lions moved then rookie Penei Sewell to the lefts side of the line for the first 11 games. I don't think the Lions will do that again since Sewell might be the best right tackle in the league right now and I don't think you want to mess with that. 

As a whole, Nelson graded out at 50.8 on Pro Football Focus. That was on 675 snaps. He allowed 41 pressures and three sacks. That's not that great. For comparisons sake, Taylor Decker allowed 33 pressures, nine hits and four sacks on 1,142 snaps last season. 

It wasn't all bad for Nelson though. He did have a couple games where he played pretty well. His game against the Baltimore Ravens was a really nice showing that saw him get a grade of 72.9 on 63 snaps. He allowed just one pressure in that entire game. His next best start was against the Chicago Bears. He got a 61.6 grade on 71 snaps and allowed five pressures. 

That's not too bad a at all. The flip side is what you worry about. Nelson got a 39.2 grade on 59 snaps against the Green Bay Packers. He allowed seven pressures in that game. 

That was 2021 though. How is Nelson doing now? He started all preseason and actually had a nice little run. He graded out at 71.6 on 114 total snaps and allowed just four pressures. The problem is that this all came mostly against second and third team players. 

He got to play against the New York Giants starting defensive line in the first preseason game it was his worst game of the summer. 

So to answer the question, can Nelson holding things down? Yes, he can, but the Lions have to hope that it's not for long. He will be a weak spot out there and the Seahawks will look to target him. 

We'll keep you updated on Taylor Decker's status as more news comes in.

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