Lions’ Taylor Decker played through pain for big win in Green Bay: ‘We got that done’

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Taylor Decker didn’t hide away from the fact that he wasn’t 100%, battling through a high-ankle sprain and a bone bruise against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football.

But the Detroit Lions left tackle did everything to get himself ready, including upwards of eight hours of training, rehab and therapy each day to get back as soon as possible. And while Decker was kicking himself for his personal performance, he and the Lions reached their ultimate goal by beating the Packers 34-20.

“I knew I was going to come back and not be 100%. But the whole point in me doing that was to be able to help the team win a big game,” Decker said. “Ultimately, we got that done. I mean, I’m always going to be my harshest critic and I’m going to be frustrated — Tonight, I didn’t play up to my personal standard. Regardless of being 100% or not. You’re stepping on that field, at least for me, like that’s my expectation. Ultimately, we won, which was the whole point in playing.

“Since I hurt it, I’ve probably done anywhere from 4-6 hours of stuff at work (each day). And then on top of that, I go home and I probably do another 2 hours at the house at home from the facility, so I was just always doing something. I mean, like, my wonderful wife is doing lymphatic massages on my ankle before I go to sleep. I mean, it’s part of the job.”

One positive aspect of playing the Thursday night game is Decker and the Lions having nine days before hosting the Carolina Panthers back at Ford Field. Decker said he’s “ecstatic” to have that time off to recover and get a couple of days away form practice.

And quarterback Jared Goff made sure to give his left tackle some much-deserved props after the game. Goff was sacked twice and hit six times altogether. But the Lions leaned on their rushing attack while protecting a strong lead, with Goff pointing to Decker as someone deserving additional praise.

“Taylor Decker, banged up, he deserved a hell of a lot of credit for being out there tonight and fighting his ass off and doing his thing,” Goff said after the game. “He doesn’t get maybe the credit he deserves sometimes at left tackle for us, for what he’s done. Obviously, the other guys did their things too, but thinking about him and his battle, it was pretty impressive.”

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Decker, the longest-tenured member of the roster, missed the last two games while dealing with the injury he suffered in the season-opening win against the Kansas City Chiefs. He played nearly 50 snaps on the injury that night, too, so the veteran bookend tackle had an idea for what he was getting into.

The Lions slid Penei Sewell to his spot, with Matt Nelson starting twice at right tackle. But Nelson landed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Dan Skipper was knocked out of last week’s win against the Atlanta Falcons with a hamstring injury after replacing him for a handful of snaps. That pushed fifth-round rookie Colby Sorsdal to right tackle, with the Lions already missing Halapoulivaati Vaitai from their vaunted offensive line, and their depth taking a deeper hit.

Decker was back at left tackle, pushing Sewell to his home on the right side, with Graham Glasgow starting at guard for Vaitai. In the end, Decker and the Lions did what they needed to do with the football world watching. And for someone who has seen the ups and downs of this franchise, Decker is looking to keep the wins coming as they strive for their long-term goals of division titles and more.

“I think it just puts in the position to take the next step after that,” Decker said. “This is our expectation to go out and win every single game that we play. It’s taken a while to build to that point. But that’s the expectation for this team. We got a good team. We got players, guys that care about each other.

“The whole culture and everything is 100% real and authentic and guys are bought into it and believe it. Certainly, I don’t know — It’s special to be a part of this, especially, like I’ve said before, we used to not get prime-time games and people weren’t excited to watch the Lions play. And, you know, now they are. And it’s fun to be a part of that. It’s fun to be part of the change and the solution.”