Detroit Lions

Lions defense has held Aidan Hutchinson, themselves back. Could that change?

Published Dec. 15, 2023 9:59 a.m. ET

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Carmen Vitali

NFC North Reporter

You might expect the NFL's leader in QB pressures to be a highly paid superstar like Nick Bosa, Maxx Crosby or T.J. Watt. It's actually Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who leads the league in pressures (42) in only his second season.

But Hutchinson has just 6.5 sacks.

Every other player on that list except for Bosa was well into double digits through 13 games. Every other player on that list except Watt has single-digit missed tackle numbers. Hutchinson's missed tackle rate is 17.4%.

I don't bring that up to discredit Hutchinson. The reason pressures haven't manifested into sacks is because Hutchinson is largely on his own on a Detroit defense that is badly injured and has struggled to stop the bleeding. 

The lack of help up front has resulted in a unit that ranks 24th in sack rate. They're allowing nearly 20 first downs per game to opponents, which ranks 19th. The red zone has the Lions seeing red, letting opponents score 68.18% of the time, which is the third-highest rate in the league. They're tied for 28th in goal-to-go rate. Detroit needed all 41 points to win over the Chargers in Week 10. The Lions offense has put up 25 or more points seven times this season and the team is 6-1 in such situations. 

When the offense was totally healthy, the points and yards the defense was giving up flew under the radar. Now that the offense has struggled to stay healthy, and is falling short in protecting quarterback Jared Goff, the issues defensively have become more glaring. 

As with the offense, everything starts up front for the defense, which brings us back to Hutchinson. He's a blue-chip pass rusher and has developed at an incredible pace. But the sack production isn't there because who else does he have on the defensive line?

Defensive tackle Alim McNeill is on IR until at least Week 18. He is one of the most underrated defensive tackles in the league and Hutchinson absolutely benefited from McNeill on the interior, but I don't think we can confidently say McNeill is enough to open up opportunities for Hutchinson.

That's especially true given that John Cominsky is Hutchinson's bookend on the opposite side of the line. Cominsky is a fantastic rotational player but he isn't commanding attention away from Hutchinson. If anything, he's benefited tremendously from the attention Hutchinson draws.

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The team could get James Houston back from injury this month. The sixth-round pick was a welcome surprise at the tail end of last season. Houston didn't start a game for the Lions until Week 12 but tallied the second-most sacks on the team in that span. Detroit needs him to come back from injury as that player if they want to get their pass rush going.

Then there's how this all affects the back end. If any individual position group has it bad with the injury bug, it's the Lions' secondary. 

The pass defense was their Achilles heel last year, so what did general manager Brad Holmes do? In free agency, he acquired safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley. They also drafted Alabama's Brian Branch in the second round and it looked like, at least initially, the Lions' pass defense could become a strength of this team.

Instead, Gardner-Johnson played in just two games for Detroit before tearing his pectoral muscle. Moseley returned from an ACL tear on October 8 and heartbreakingly tore his other ACL in his return. Just like that, two starters are down. Any injury to the secondary this season has spelled near-catastrophe, though they've all been short-term. But it's resulted in a very limited rotation in both the corner and safety spots, wearing down players like Jerry Jacobs, Kerby Joseph and the aforementioned Branch. 

With the lack of a pass rush, the thinnest unit on the team has been under a tremendous amount of stress. Teams are attacking the deep level of the field, especially late in games. They've given up 166 points this season in the second half compared to 142 in the first and it's hurting them.

Last week against the Bears, after going into halftime tied, the Lions fumbled a potential go-ahead drive at the end of the third quarter and Chicago ended up with a 38-yard touchdown thanks to a beautiful pass by Justin Fields to D.J. Moore. It was on a free play too, because the Lions jumped offsides on fourth-and-13. Fourth and 13.

No group is satisfactorily doing their job on the Lions' defense. It's a domino effect between the front not getting pressure and the secondary being banged up. Not to be forgotten, the Lions inside linebackers are trying to make up for as much of it as they can, but Alex Anzalone and rookie Jack Campbell have their limits.

If just one of the two suffering units on the Lions' defense could improve, Detroit would be a lot better off. 

The good news is, that could very well happen. Gardner-Johnson was medically cleared on Thursday. His presence would single-handedly elevate the secondary, provided Gardner-Johnson could get back to who he was in the first two games of the season. Or, if he's not, the team could get Houston back by the end of the month, per head coach Dan Campbell this week. McNeill said last week that he is on track to return as soon as he's eligible to come off IR.

If the Lions can win just one more game, they will likely lock up the division. Detroit has a 99% chance to make the playoffs and 91% chance to win the division, according to the New York Times simulator. If they get those three defensive players back by the end of the regular season, and Frank Ragnow returns on the offensive line, the Lions could end up having health when it matters most.

And maybe more of those Hutchinson pressures can turn into sacks.

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.

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Carmen Vitali