Aidan Hutchinson wasn't a fan of the Lions growing up, but he knew all about them. Enough to stay away. Instead of rooting for the perennial loser down the road, Hutchinson rode with Michigan product Tom Brady and the Patriots thanks to his dad and fellow Michigan legend Chris Hutchinson. It made for a happier youth.
Now Hutchinson is one of the forces of change for the Lions, and one of the faces of a franchise vying for its first ever berth in the Super Bowl. The streak of eyeblack down his right cheek is even on his bobblehead, released by the Lions earlier this season. It's the fans who are shaking their heads, and the city that's losing its mind, as the Lions close in on the impossible.
They were 1-6 last season, 4-19-1 under Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes. The only NFC team with a better record since is the one the Lions will play Sunday in the conference championship game. With victories come vertigo.
"Growing up here, you grow up with a lot of the Same Old Lions stuff, and a lot of the tragedy and whatever you want to call it," Hutchinson said Wednesday. "So to be on this side of it, I see videos of little kids and just seeing that generation grow up with this Lions team and the Lions teams to come, it’s just cool to have two different perspectives on it."
Taylor Decker didn't grow up with the Same Old Lions; he was part of them. He had a brief taste of the playoffs as a rookie, then spent most of his next five years in Detroit losing games and wondering if he'd ever be a winner again. Hutchinson's arrival helped spawn a revival. He gave the Lions defense an edge on the edge, and he's only gotten better in his second season.
As one of the offensive tackles tasked with blocking him in practice, Decker has had a rather personal view of Hutchinson's growth. He said Hutchinson came back stronger this season and has "added a good bit of power into his game." The one thing Hutchinson never lacked was a motor, which is one of the ways the No. 2 pick has earned his teammates' respect.
"He gives incredible effort, and that’s what you want when you draft a guy as high as he got drafted," said Decker, the Lions' longest-tenured player. "And on top of that, he’s the epitome of a professional. He goes about everything the right way, he’s always going to be prepared, and then he’s just a confident player. Confidence can’t be understated when you’re out there playing against the best athletes on the planet, and he’s confident he can go out there and go toe to toe with those guys."
Decker doesn't doll out this sort of praise to just anyone. He knows a phony when he sees one after eight years in the NFL. He raves about Hutchinson, "a great teammate who makes the guys around him better."
"He just has a passion for football. He just loves it," Decker said. "He’s a guy that — he’s a Michigan guy, he’s seen the Lions. I know he’s only been here for a short amount of time on our team, but it means a lot to him and you can tell it does."
Hutchinson will be huge for the Lions on Sunday in San Francisco, as he has been all season. Their defense generally goes as he goes. Certainly their pass rush. After struggling to convert quarterback pressures into sacks for most of the year, Hutchinson has eight sacks and 18 quarterback hits over the last four games, including three sacks and eight QB hits in playoff wins over the Rams and Bucs. He said ahead of the playoffs that his "time was now." He's seizing the moment.
So are the Lions, who have no plans of leaving their dreams in California. As Jared Goff said after they knocked out Tampa last week -- and "I don't want to say this arrogantly" -- the Lions expected to beat the Rams, they expected to beat the Bucs and now they're in "a game we expected to be in against a really good team at their place, and we’re going to come into it expecting to win." The former No. 2 pick follows the former No. 1 pick.
"We’re all gonna come into that game with the expectation of winning it and going to the Super Bowl," Hutchinson said. "That’s what we believe. We expect nothing less. That’s our attitude going in there."
The Lions are 6.5-point underdogs to one of the best teams in the NFL. The 49ers are elite offensively, and just as dangerous on defense. They boast playmakers at every position; Hutchinson is one of the few playmakers on Detroit's defense who could help swing the game. He says the Lions are ready, that they were molded for this opportunity all season.
Given his sense of timing, who would we be to doubt him?
"We ended the season hot and we carried the momentum into the playoffs with us," Hutchinson said. "We’re going to keep riding that momentum."