A big win for the Lions was overshadowed by a bigger loss.
While Dan Campbell said after the Lions' rout of the Patriots Sunday in Germany that they would know more about Aidan Hutchinson's knee injury upon their return to the United States, the injury will end Hutchinson's season, per NFL insider Tom Pelissero.
Oh boy. #Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson got hurt celebrating a sack. He’s now in the medical tent. https://t.co/DnPLvjm7qL
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 15, 2026
While celebrating his sack that ended the Patriots' opening drive, Hutchinson leapt into the air as he often does and buckled his right knee upon landing.
It's the second time in three years that Hutchinson has suffered a season-ending injury, after he fractured his left tibia and fibula in Week 6 of 2024.
And it's the second time in three weeks that the Lions lost a star defender in a big win. Jack Campbell suffered a serious neck injury in their victory two weeks ago over the Vikings and remains in the hospital in recovery.
Dan Campbell was proud of the way his team responded Sunday in their 35-10 win over the Patriots. It helped their cause that New England lost quarterback Drake Maye to an ankle injury on the same play as Hutchinson's injury, but the Lions didn't let up without their best defensive player.
"Our guys stepped up and finished, man. We stayed strong," Campbell said. "This is the second time this has happened and our guys have responded in a tough situation and didn't bat any eye. We just went back to work, and that's not an easy thing to do. But no, certainly you don't want to know that a player like that is down."
The Lions racked up four sacks after Hutchinson left, including two by rookie Derrick Moore for the second week in a row. Alim McNeill also added another sack, giving him 6.5 on the season, most in the NFL among defensive tackles. Those two will be crucial contributors in Hutchinson's absence.
So will defensive end D.J. Wonnum, who had his sixth sack of the season Sunday after missing last week with a concussion. The Lions will also be counting on continued interior pressure from the likes of Tyleik Williams and rookie Skyler Gill-Howard.
"Derrick Moore gets better every game," Dan Campbell said after Detroit's win. "The more reps he gets, the better he gets. It was good to get Wonnum back today. We know what Mac is. Sky can create in there, so can Tyleik. And all those guys, Levi (Onwuzurike) and (Tyler) Lacy, bring a different flavor.
"But I think the important thing is here, we did what we had to do to get out of this game with a win, played really good defense and I really through the backend played outstanding We played some sticky coverage today and bought us a little bit of time. Those other guys, we're improving. We gotta go. We gotta step up, now. We need some guys to really step up and fill that void."
Other players the Lions could look toward in Hutchinson's stead are undrafted rookies Eric O'Neill and Anthony Lucas, the latter of whom made his debut last week when Wonnum was out. Ahmed Hassanein could also get a shot.
