Injuries Have Left Detroit Exposed, Forcing Hutchinson and the Lions’ Defensive Front to Wage War on Patrick Mahomes
ALLEN PARK — There have been a lot of questions and talk about how to fill the gaps in the secondary.
The Detroit Lions will be without top cornerbacks D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. Reed is on injured reserve. Arnold faces an uncertain timeline, but is expected to miss some time due to his shoulder injury.
Defensive backs Amik Robertson, Rock Ya-Sin and Avonte Maddox will have to lift the load. However, the best way to make life easier for the defense is to keep creating pressure, sacks and disrupting the quarterback from the feisty front. Detroit is second in the NFL with 16 sacks in five games, and Aidan Hutchinson is leading that charge, and then some.
Hutchinson is tied for third with five sacks himself. He has one in four straight games, not to mention a forced fumble in three consecutive games. The star pass rusher is also tied for the league lead with 31 pressures, ranking as the top-rated edge defender in the league, per Pro Football Focus.
Dan Campbell was asked how important Hutchinson is, and the Lions coach couldn’t put a value on it because “there’s (not) a big enough number.”
“The number of things he’s able to do for us in the run and the pass game,” Campbell said. “He pulls a lot of slack, man. You talk about pulling your weight, he pulls his weight and then some. He requires a lot of resources offensively, which helps everybody else. Guys like him, he’s in that rare world of, you don’t get the easy way out. He’s got to beat the nudges. He’s got to beat the back chip, then the tackle’s on him … sometimes you may have to beat three, sometimes four (players).
“But if that’s the case, somebody else is winning. They’ve got to win. He is a complete football player; he does it all. And he’s disruptive, he’s violent, he’s high motor, he’s crafty, he’s explosive, he’s tough, he’s competitive. And he does it all. He does it all.”
Lions pass rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad also deserves some love for stepping into the role left by Marcus Davenport and thriving with the opportunity. He’s been one of the players to benefit from all of the attention paid to Hutchinson.
Muhammad is second on the team with 17 pressures, and ranks among PFF’s top 20 in overall grade and in pass-rushing. And the Lions are going to need all of that and more against the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes is a magician in the pocket, somehow always finding new ways to get the ball out and make a play while extending it. The Chiefs quarterback is also getting a boost from stellar play from rookie offensive tackle Josh Simmons to open.
Mahomes has been sacked only seven times in five games, with PFF crediting only two of those to Kansas City’s offensive line.
“You’ve got to do a number of things with him. First of all, he can smell a rat from a mile away, so if you’re going to disguise, boy, it better be worthy of a Grammy,” Campbell said. “This guy sees it all, and he smells it immediately. He can alternate protections. He can get to different things in the pass game. So, I think you’ve got to do a number of different things. But you’ve got to be careful that you don’t want to become something you’re not. You’ve got to still hang your hat on what you do well.
“I mean, there’s clip after clip of it looks like they’ve closed it down on him, they’ve got him, the lane’s not there. And all of a sudden, man, he skipped out of one and he’s going to the ground, he flicks it through two defenders.”
Kelvin Sheppard joked while saying the league fed him a “murderer’s row” of matchups to open his tenure as defensive coordinator. He said planning against Chiefs coach Andy Reid and those speedy weapons is another level of challenge, due to the unorthodox approach and never showing his hand.
“I’ve always respected and revered coach Reed, but now I see why, it’s always the why with me and I always wanted to know why people viewed him in such high regard,” Sheppard said. “Now, having to game plan against him; it’s unorthodox. He’s going to keep you off-kiltered on defense. He’s never going to show his hand. By that what I mean (is) some coordinators will show what they’re doing per down and distance. It’s always off base and then the off-schedule plays that 15 is able to make.”
Sheppard also pointed to the challenge with Mahomes, adding that the play is never over until it’s truly over with the ball in his hands.
Hutchinson echoed his defensive coordinator, reflecting on his memories from playing the Chiefs in 2023. The pass rusher said that game showed him how aware Mahomes is. It’s all about finding the right balance between staying disciplined and staying aggressive when rushing the passer.
“He is just very aware,” Hutchinson said. “So, we just got to do a good job of finding the balance between applying pressure, you know, getting production, getting sacks, but also trying to keep him in the pocket. And again, if you’re rushing forward, there’s going to be two gaps open ultimately, so he may get out, but we’re going to get back, get, get right back after it in the next play.”
