No one looked more distraught when Aidan Hutchinson was crumpled on the turf in pain last Sunday than a Lions fan in the crowd who was shown on TV. His fear and eventual relief when Hutchinson rose to his feet captured the feelings of an entire fanbase.
Hutchinson had the wind knocked out of him on a block he didn't see coming in the Lions' win over the Browns, but the way he went down made it look like a serious injury and gave everyone flashbacks to last year in Dallas when he broke his leg. The reactions to the little episode, Hutchinson admits, have "been hilarious."
"When we watched the TV copy we saw some facial expressions of people in the crowd, and I felt terrible," Hutchinson said Wednesday. "I’m trying to get up in the moment, because I’m not gonna have this label on me, I’m not gonna be going down, that’s not my thing, and unfortunately I couldn’t get up."
Hutchinson and his family, via their House of Hutch social channels, made it their mission to track down the anguished fan in the crowd to send him some "comforting goodies." Hutchinson confirmed Wednesday that they found him "because one of the masseuses that I work with, his co-worker’s best friend, you know how it is, you find the connection somewhere and we found it, so definitely going to be giving him some gear."
In general, the outpouring of concern meant a lot to Hutchinson, who paid the fans back with two sacks and a forced fumble on a dominant day for the Lions' defense.
"It’s great. I feel like the fans all support me and they know how much I put into this comeback season and they’re wishing me well. And to all the fans," he said with a smile, "I’m great, I’m feeling healthy, and we’re going to be 100 percent going into Cincinnati."
Hutchinson has four sacks through four games, tied for sixth in the NFL with Myles Garrett and Danielle Hunter, while the Lions have 14 as a team, which is tied for first.
"I feel like we’ve been getting it going and it’s been productive, it’s been fun," Hutchinson said. "Going out there as a D-line, it’s not just me, it’s a lot of players on our defense who are making plays in big moments that are helping us win games. As long as we keep playing well as a defense and keep rushing the passer as a defensive line, we’re going to stay on this trajectory."