Penei Sewell murmured for most of his five-minute interview with reporters the day after the Lions' season-ending loss to the Commanders, hollowed out by despair. He spoke up when asked about the criticism aimed at Jared Goff.
"That's bullsh*t," said Sewell. "I just don't understand how in a team sport that people can put blame on one person, at all. It's not like he's the one that's out there by himself. I'll never understand, but again, that's not my world and what I pay attention to. But, bullsh*t."
Goff committed four turnovers in Detroit's 45-31 defeat, including a pick-six on a badly-overthrown pass that put Washington in the driver's seat in the first half. The Lions never regained the wheel.
"It's one of those things we gotta take on the chin," said Sewell. "And if you're not motivated as ever from this, then you just gotta look at the man in the mirror, at the end of the day. So, just looking forward to next year."
At this point, that's all the Lions can do. As they cleaned out their lockers on Sunday in Allen Park, the white board in the middle of the room offered a reminder to the players to leave their cleats in their stalls for OTA's. The best season in franchise history is a thing of the past.
"We had a great regular season, and to fall short is just tough," said Sewell.
The hardest part about it?
"Losing," he said. "I don't know. Just not accomplishing our goal. ... It's always a tough feeling being at home and seeing (another team celebrate)."
Sewell did flash a smile when asked about offensive line coach Hank Fraley, who interviewed last week for the Seahawks' offensive coordinator job. The Lions' All-Pro right tackle echoed their Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow and said, "Yeah, nah, he's not going nowhere at the end of the day."
"He's just been one of those pillars for me in this organization," said Sewell. "When I first came in, I fell in love with him. And we got a history, too, he was recruiting me in high school when he was at UCLA, and our relationship has grown. He's like Coach Campbell in terms of a figure in my eyes, so he's not going nowhere."