Oh, brother! Three pairs of siblings to share field when Lions host Bears

Allen Park — Philadelphia is "The City of Brotherly Love," but it could reasonably loan the title to Detroit this weekend, with three sets of siblings set to share the field when the Chicago Bears come to town to take on the Lions.

In addition to the weekly pairing of Detroit defensive linemen Romeo and Julian Okwara, there will be two brothers of Lions players on the opposing sideline this Sunday.

For Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown, the scenario is getting to be something of an old hat. When the Lions drafted Amon-Ra out of USC in 2021, Equanimeous was entering his third season with division-rival Green Bay.

They didn't have to wait long into Amon-Ra's rookie season to cross paths, as the sides collided in Week 2. Making that 35-17 Packers win a little more special, both pass-catching brothers managed to record at least one reception in the game.

The following offseason, Equanimeous moved on from Green Bay, but stayed within the division, signing with Chicago. Sunday will mark the fifth time the two have shared an NFL field. The brothers also share a weekly podcast on "The 33rd team," where they will often host teammates as guests, while treating their audience to a healthy dose of competitive, sibling banter each episode.

While the novelty of playing against each other has likely worn off for the St. Browns, it will be fresh for Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell, who will face younger brother Noah, a rookie linebacker for the Bears, for the first time.

"I think it’ll be awesome," Penei said. "I try not to think too much of it, because at the end of the day I've gotta do a job and he’s gotta do a job. So, we approach it the same way, but obviously, this one’s a little different, just because he’s on the other side. So, it’ll be a little weird at first, but once it’s go time, it’s go time."

A third-round draft pick for the Bears this year, the younger Sewell has seen most of his playing time on special teams, with just 25 defensive snaps under his belt. But he logged 10 a couple weeks back in the Bears' loss to New Orleans, plus he's seen at least a couple reps along the line of scrimmage, so there's a slight chance the brothers will actually square off head-to-head at some point on Sunday.

The last time the Sewell siblings shared a field was in 2017, at Desert Hills High School in St. George, Utah. That was Penei's final game there before heading to the University of Oregon. Noah followed Penei to the college, but the two never played together after Penei opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asked on Wednesday, Penei didn't have a final tally, but he's expecting more than 10 family members in attendance at Ford Field on Sunday.

"They’re still trickling in, so I gotta find out," he said. "Somewhere up there, at least."

Interestingly, Noah likely won't be the only brother Penei sees across the sidelines this season. Nephi Sewell, older brother to both, is a linebacker playing a significant special teams role in his second season with the New Orleans Saints.

The Lions travel to New Orleans to play the Saints on Dec. 3. Noah and Nephi actually crossed professional paths first, when the Saints bested the Bears, 24-17, on Nov. 5.

If all six players are active as expected, Sunday will be the first time three pairs of brothers have appeared in the same NFL game since a Dec. 2, 1979 matchup between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. That group included Ray and Archie Griffin, Jim and Ross Browner and Chris and Matt Bahr.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers