Aidan Hutchinson etched himself into Lions history in Week 2 when he notched 4.5 sacks against the Buccaneers. Is a similar performance on the horizon against the Cardinals?
Aidan Hutchinson was unstoppable in Week 2 when the Detroit Lions hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field. Hutchinson tallied three sacks within the first ten minutes of the game and would finish the day with 4.5 sacks as a whole. He did so against Tampa Bay’s backup right tackle, who was no match for the Lions’ rising star. Luckily for Hutchinson, there’s more backup tackle on the menu this week.
Bold prediction of the week: Aidan Hutchinson tallies 3+ sacks against the Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals have got to be planning ahead, after watching Hutchinson wreak havoc against the Bucs last week. The Cardinals themselves are working with a backup right tackle, and their situation just might be worse. Their starter, Jonah Williams, landed on IR early in the season, and the Cardinals have since turned to Kelvin Beachum on the right side.
The outcome hasn’t been great:
The drop-off from Jonah Williams to Kelvin Beachum is huge. One weak link on an offensive line can change everything.
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) September 8, 2024
The drop off from Jonah Williams to Kelvin Beachum has really stagnated this offense
— Kyler Burd (@AZCard_BurdsEye) September 8, 2024
It gets worse though. Earlier this week, Beachum suffered a hamstring injury that landed him as questionable on the injury report. That’s bad news for the Cardinals, who only have one other healthy tackle on their depth chart, and he was just promoted from the practice squad.
This is all shaping up well for the Lions’ defensive line to get solid pressure against Kyler Murray. For Hutchinson, it bodes well specifically for sacks. We’ve often seen Hutchinson crash down opposing pockets relatively late, and be unable to finish with a sack. He thrives when he’s able to get early pressure, like last week, when he was able to blow by the Bucs’ right tackle from the get-go. Kyler Murray, on the other hand, is great at extending plays once he has gone through his reads. A key to turning pressures into sacks will be to get to Murray before he gets through his reads, and this sets up the Lions to do just that.
The Lions are also getting stronger along the defensive line. Marcus Davenport has practiced in full all week, and he’ll add a stronger pass rush element opposite of Hutchinson. DJ Reader will also likely see more snaps as he knocks off the rust and plays his second game of the season. The Lions will be in full force opposite a handicapped Cardinals line, and that will be the key to stopping the Cardinals’ offense.
Ultimately, three sacks in any week is something to write home about. Doing it after coming off of a 4.5-sack performance, against one of the league’s most elusive quarterbacks, would be improbable. As it stands now, the stars are aligning such that the improbably just might come true.
