Three pairs of brothers will be on the same field in Sunday’s Bears-Lions game

Three pairs of brothers will be on the field during Sunday’s Bears-Lions game, a very rare occurrence in NFL history.

Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell could block his brother, Bears rookie linebacker Noah Sewell, in their first NFL game against each other. Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown will play against his brother, Bears wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, for the fifth time in their NFL careers. And Lions passers and brothers Romeo Okwara and Julian Okwara will line up together as usual.

Bears-Lions is only the second game in NFL history with three pairs of brothers playing, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN. The previous event was Steelers-Bengals in 1979. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati played twice that year, meaning there were two games featuring Matt and Chris Bahr, Jim and Ross Browner, and Archie and Ray Griffin.

Penei Sewell (who has another brother, Nephi, who plays for the Saints, and yet another brother, Gabriel, who plays in the USFL), said taking the same field as his brothers is a dream come true for his family.

“It takes me back to the times when we were in the backyard playing with a water bottle like a soccer ball and going at it. It brings back a lot of good memories,” Penei Sewell told ESPN.

Equanimeous St. Brown, whose father was a champion bodybuilder and whose other brother Osiris played at Stanford, also said competition was huge in his family.

“I was lucky enough to have a father and a brother, and we did a lot of extra work,” Equanimeous St. Brown told ESPN. “To get to this level, everyone does a lot of extra work. You can’t just go to training and go home. That won’t be enough.

Sunday will be a special day for three families.