For Aidan Hutchinson, the last two weeks have been frustrating. And the first three quarters of Sunday's game against the Falcons didn't totally fulfill him.
"But this game is four quarters," Hutchinson would say, "so you gotta play it to the end."
From the very beginning, Detroit's defense was dominant against Atlanta. It forced a three and out on the Falcons' first drive, thanks in part to a batted-down pass by Hutchinson. It snuffed out their next drive with back-to-back sacks, first by defensive tackle Benito Jones, then by linebacker Derrick Barnes. Two snaps had produced more sacks than the Lions' first two games combined. And they kept on coming.
Nose tackle Alim McNeill got on the board late in the second quarter, busting through the middle with Hutchinson's help off the edge. So did linebacker Jack Campbell, whose first career sack ended the first half. Defensive end Charles Harris got his first of the season late in the third quarter, but still a goose egg for Hutchinson entering the fourth despite applying steady QB pressure for the third game in a row.
"This game really did test my mental toughness," Hutchinson would say. "It's hard, man, when you feel like you're playing at a high level but the numbers or just the production doesn't come. It's frustrating. That's just the game of football. I did have to get a little mentally tough today. You're so proud of the boys for producing, for getting after it, and I also wanted to be a part of it."
Finally, with 6:30 remaining and the Lions leading 20-3, Hutchinson torched veteran left tackle Jake Matthews with a spin move to the inside and walloped quarterback Desmond Ridder for a seven-yard loss. Then he busted out the Stanky Legg to the roaring approval of Ford Field. His sack celebration last year was the Blade Dance, popularized by late Detroit rapper Blade Icewood. This year, or at least this week, it's the GS Boyz.
"I was waiting to do the Stanky Legg for about three games now," Hutchinson admitted with a grin. "It's been in my head for a very long time. I'm going to have to start thinking about some new dances now."
But Hutchinson wasn't satisfied with dancing once. He hit his move again, this this time in the end zone with about two minutes to go, after barreling through rookie guard Matthew Bergeron -- welcome to the NFL, kid -- drilling Ridder for a strip-sack and recovering the fumble to seal the game. Talk about doing it all. Sunday was a testament to the scope of Hutchinson's skills, one sack off the edge, another from the interior and strong work against the run, where the Lions never let Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier get going.
"I thought we had good rush lanes and I thought we were playing well all the way around," said Hutchinson. "I think we found out how to rush the passer this week."
The Lions' seven sacks tied a high under defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, matching their total in Week 17 last season against the Bears. It was a badly-needed performance for Glenn's unit, which had come under fire last week after getting burned, again, by the Seahawks. It was also something of a relief for Hutchinson, who might have started pressing had he come out of another game without a sack to his name. Not that his coaches were starting to lose faith in the former No. 2 pick.
"Any time Hutch rushes I think he's going to get there because it's the nature of the way he rushes," said Dan Campbell. "He's high-motor, he's got craft in what he does, he's not a one-trick pony, he's got a couple of different moves and he's got ability, so I always expect it."
Campbell spent last week emphasizing discipline to his defense, or the importance of playing within the scheme. Straying beyond it and chasing production is what Campbell calls "rat ball." There was no evidence of that in Week 3, just a "hungry, violent defense," said Campbell, with "guys flying around the football."
Contrary to what their sack total suggested, the Lions had done a good job of getting to the quarterback through two games. On Sunday, they finally got him to the ground. In one afternoon, they jumped from last in the NFL in sacks to just outside the top 10. Which makes sense: they also rank 10th in pressure rate, and fourth in total pressures. And they did it against Atlanta without suddenly loading up on blitzes. The coaches trusted the players to make plays, who trusted the scheme.
"Our defense was outstanding," said Campbell. "AG did a hell of a job."
"Last week was rough," said Hutchinson. "It was a game that we had our eyes on and they got the better of us defensively. So we wanted to come out this week and prove a point, and I think we did that."
It started up front, and it ended with Hutchinson.
