The Detroit Lions went into a primetime road game against the Baltimore Ravens as underdogs and came away with a statement win.
Throughout Dan Campbell’s reign as head coach, Detroit’s defense has always been lackluster against mobile quarterbacks. That wasn’t the case on Monday night as the Lions contained Lamar Jackson to 35 yards and sacked him a whopping seven times. Even more impressive was that Detroit’s defense totaled 34 pressures on Jackson, who dropped back to pass 37 times.
While Al-Quadin Muhammad was given a game ball by Dan Campbell for his stellar performance against Baltimore, there’s a veteran leader on the defensive line who should also get his kudos.
Game ball: Aidan Hutchinson
Stats: 2 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 9 pressures, 7 hurries
About 11 months ago, star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson suffered a gruesome leg injury that sidelined him for a majority of the 2024 season. On Monday night, he looked like his former self again.
Though his box score might be a little lackluster compared to his usual stat lines, Hutchinson played a major part in containing Jackson throughout the game and allowing his fellow front-seven defenders to make plays. Hutchinson accounted for nine pressures throughout the night and made two plays that helped prevent a Ravens comeback late in the game.
In the fourth quarter, with Baltimore down by just four points, Hutchinson made a tackle on All-Pro running back Derrick Henry on their first play of the drive, forcing the ball out in the process and immediately giving the ball back to the offense. On that play, Hutchinson first overcommitted on his angle but was able to chase down Henry and punch the ball out. Detroit was able to capitalize on this situation with a 45-yard field goal from Jake Bates on the following drive and boost their lead.
On the first play of the following defensive drive, with Baltimore now down by a touchdown and extra point, Hutchinson broke a triple-team block and sacked Lamar Jackson for a loss of six yards. The defense forced a three-and-out, which gave Detroit the chance to run up the score on a 31-yard David Montgomery touchdown run soon after.
Honorable mention: The offensive line
Jared Goff was sacked four times in Detroit’s first two games, and there were many times where the starting five on the offensive line did not seem in sync. This was not the case against Baltimore.
With Detroit rushing for 224 yards and four touchdowns, it’s easy to credit David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs for their efforts. But their successes relied heavily on the offensive line executing their assignments perfectly in this game, and that’s exactly what happened. Baltimore allowed 223 rushing yards over the last two games, and Detroit surpassed that total in one game.
Jared Goff had a clean pocket for most of the game and was not sacked, giving him a chance to throw for 202 yards and a touchdown to St. Brown. Baltimore’s defense had three sacks and 12 quarterback hits going into this game, and they were not able to continue that success against Detroit.
Detroit’s interior line of rookie right guard Tate Ratledge, center Graham Glasgow, and second-year left guard Christian Mahogany looked the most cohesive that they have all season, and things will improve even more over the season as the trio gets more reps alongside one another.
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