Jump to a topicDetroit LionsMinnesota VikingsMiami DolphinsNew York GiantsPhiladelphia EaglesDallas CowboysTennessee TitansCleveland BrownsRobert Kraft and the Hall of FameQuick-hittersMore NFL on Sports Illustrated
Detroit Lions
And it’s another reason why this once sad-sack franchise has emerged as the NFL’s very clear No. 1 team as we approach the team’s annual Thanksgiving game—with no complaining anymore that the Lions are sitting in that national television window.
Somehow, this is what the aftermath of losing Aidan Hutchinson looks like for Detroit. Out goes the Lions’ best defensive player and in comes the team’s defensive breakthrough.
After Sunday’s workmanlike 24–6 deconstruction of the Indianapolis Colts, the Lions will carry a streak of 10 quarters without allowing a touchdown into Thursday’s game against the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who are games behind Detroit in the standings. Over that time, Aaron Glenn’s defense has allowed just four field goals. And in the six games since losing Hutchinson, the defense has allowed 316.0 yards per game and 15.3 points per game, which is actually less than the unit allowed over the first five games (329.4 and 18.2, respectively).
“We can’t replace Hutch,” veteran corner Amik Robertson told me postgame. “But we can continue playing together. We know Hutch causes havoc every time he’s out there, but the next guy has to step up. We got to play as a whole. The D-line helps the secondary and the secondary helps the D-line. We got to do it for him because we know if he was out there, he’d be playing 100%, so that’s what we do.”
It’s also happened because, as has seemed to be the case with virtually everything since Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes arrived in 2021, the Lions have had answers, post-Hutch.
On Sunday, two guys registered multiple hits/hurries on Anthony Richardson—D.J. Reader and Za’Darius Smith. The former is the havoc-wreaking defensive tackle that Detroit gambled on in March, signing Reader as a free agent while he was rehabbing a torn quad, knowing it’d take patience to get the most from him. A trade for the latter was the result of Holmes staying after the Cleveland Browns about a deal for weeks, leading up to the Nov. 5 deadline.
But those additions were just part of a much larger picture that’s come together over four years, after the Lions consciously decided in 2021 to address the offense first, since, at that point, it was closer to being competitive than the defense. It’s why, in large part, the Lions had the NFL’s 29th-ranked defense in ’21 and the league’s worst defense the year after that. Slowly, but surely, Glenn’s shared vision with Campbell for a versatile, deep unit with position flexibility all over the place came together.
In came pieces such as Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, Brian Branch, Jack Campbell and, this year, Terrion Arnold that fit that vision. And all along, Glenn kept the guys believing in the vision, even when it looked bleak, with the backing of the head coach, who never backed down from it, even as he made big changes on offense.
“It’s their will,” says Robertson, who jumped aboard the moving train this offseason, coming over from the Las Vegas Raiders. “We got some great coaches. Our leader, Coach Campbell, A.G., they know what it should look like. When you buy into it, you play for the guy next to you. You have no choice but to go out there and play Lions football.”
Robertson then added, on Glenn, “His passion—he cares. He cares about his players. When you got a guy that backs you up and cares about the players and what’s good for the players, you got no choice but to run through a wall for him. I’m glad I was able to come here and be able to get coached by a coach and individual like A.G.”
Lots of guys are, clearly. And based on the way this has been going, the best could still be ahead for the Lions’ defense.
That, by the way, could also include Hutchinson. Because the break in his leg was so clean—there was no artery, ligament or nerve damage—the team is optimistic that he’d be able to play in the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 in New Orleans, which is where Detroit plucked both Campbell and Glenn from.
Increasingly, it looks like the Lions will be there to give Hutchinson that chance. And this time, it certainly wouldn’t be in spite of the defense he’d be rejoining.
