There is no doubt, and there should be no doubt from anyone, that the Detroit Lions needed to get better on their offensive line this season. They allowed 38 sacks last year. Jared Goff has endured the most in his career, and the most the Lions have allowed since the 2020 season, when Matthew Stafford was sacked 38 times.

The Lions went out and did their thing by signing Cade Mays, drafting Blake Miller, and moving Penei Sewell to left tackle. That might not seem like enough to make this claim, but here I go making it.

The Lions’ offensive line could be a top-five unit in the NFL in 2026

Ok, there it is. I said it out loud. Now let’s talk about why I’m saying it. Let’s start here. Of those 38 sacks that Goff took last year, 22 of them came in just five games. That means the Lions allowed just 16 sacks in the other 12 games.

It’s easy to see that number and just forget what everything looked like during that time. So let’s spend a minute talking about each of those games and looking at what the offensive line looked like in those games.

Week 1 vs Packers: 4 sacks allowed

LT: Taylor Decker
LG: Christian Mahogany
C: Graham Glasgow
RG: Tate Ratledge
RT: Penei Sewell

This is the first time this entire group played together in an actual game. It was Ratledage’s first NFL game. It was the first real start of Mahogany’s career after his first training camp. Decker was coming off missing most of camp. You had to know this game wouldn’t be perfect.

Week 5 vs Bengals: 4 sacks allowed

LT: Giovanni Manu
LG: Christian Mahogany
C: Graham Glasgow
RG: Tate Ratledge
RT: Penei Sewell

Manu’s one and only start in the NFL went about as well as most players’ first starts go. He allowed two of those four sacks in relief for an injured Taylor Decker. Ratledge allowed one, and Brock Wright is credited for allowing the fourth one.

Weeks 7 and 8 vs the Buccaneers (4 sacks allowed) and Vikings (5 sacks allowed

LT: Taylor Decker
LG: Christian Mahogany
C: Graham Glasgow
RG: Tate Ratledge
RT: Penei Sewell

The Lions had their full-on offensive line in both of these games. The Vikings game is the one where Mahogany got hurt. The interesting thing about this is that Pro Football Focus actually credits the Lions’ offensive line for just one of the nine sacks allowed these games. They credit Jahmyr Gibbs for one, David Montgomery gets credit for one, and then Jared Goff takes the credit for four of the sacks. The other two don’t seem to be credited to anyone.

Week 17 vs Vikings: 5 sacks allowed

LT: Dan Skipper
LG: Christian Mahogany
C: Kingsley Eguakun
RG: Tate Ratledge
RT: Penei Sewell

I mean, what did you really expect out of this one? The Lions went into this game with a center starting his second-ever professional football game and a guy who is now on their coaching staff. To make matters worse, Sewell gets banged up in this game and plays most of it hurt. He allowed one of the two sacks he allowed in 2025 in this game. Skipper had one, Eguakun had one, and Goff is credited with the other two. Flores knows how to get that guy running, doesn’t he?

So why is it going to be so much better now?

Well, as we mentioned, when this group was healthy and together, they played pretty well. Just 16 sacks in the other 12 games. Plus, this new lineup, assuming this is what they go with, is used to allowing a lot less pressure and sacks. This is what they did in 2025. Keep in mind Miller’s is college numbers.

Player	Sacks Allowed	Hits Allowed	Hurries Allowed	Pressures allowed
Penei Sewell	2	6	11	19
Christian Mahogany	6	5	16	27
Cade Mays	0	4	9	13
Tate Ratledge	2	9	13	24
Blake Miller	2	2	10	14

On top of that, the Lions are about to face some of the worst defenses in the NFL in 2026. I mean, look at this table we put together. Plus, they’re going up against a bunch of teams that didn’t put up a lot of sacks.

All of these points point to the idea that the Lions’ offensive line could not only be better if kept healthy, but they have a shot to return to one of the league’s most elite units.

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