The Detroit Lions (4-1 straight up, 4-1 against the spread) won their third straight game in Week 6, blasting Dallas by a 47-9 count as a three or 3.5-point road favorite.
The win was bittersweet, however, because star DE Aidan Hutchinson sustained a broken tibia when his left leg collided with the leg of teammate Alim McNeill while Hutchinson was sacking Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott.
Hutchinson’s leg was immediately placed in an air cast before he was carted off the field. The University of Michigan product underwent immediate surgery at a Dallas-area hospital.
“Hate it for Hutch. That’s tough. It was tough,” Detroit head coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s in good hands right now. He’s being taken care of. He’ll stay back here and obviously he’s going to be down for a little while. So, that’s tough and it’s hard when you lose somebody like him, but we’ll know a lot more after this and obviously wish him the best.”
Hutchinson will obviously miss the rest of the 2024 season.
The third-year pass rusher currently leads the NFL in sacks with 7.5. In five games, Hutchinson has also recorded 19 tackles, 17 QB hits and one forced fumble.
In 2023 when the Lions advanced to the NFC Championship Game, Hutchinson played in all 17 regular-season games, producing 51 tackles, 33 QB hits, 14 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, seven passes broken up, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception.
In three postseason games last year, Hutchinson had 10 tackles, eight QB hits, three sacks and two PBU.
As a rookie in 2022, Hutchinson played in all 17 regular-season contests, contributing 52 tackles, 15 QB hits, 9.5 sacks, three PBU, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Detroit is one of the top Super Bowl contenders in the NFL. The Lions nearly went to the Super Bowl last year, only to allow a 17-point halftime lead to get away in a 34-31 loss at San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game.
Therefore, it’s imperative that they seek out a pass rusher with a trade. And hey, GM Brad Holmes might be the best in the NFL at his job, so I can assure you that Detroit will actively pursue an impact player like Hutchinson.
There are options, too. Haason Reddick is still holding out while mired in a bitter contract dispute with the Jets. The 30-year-old Reddick produced 12.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in 2020, 11 sacks and two forced fumbles in 2021, 16 sacks and five forced fumbles in 2022 and 11 sacks last season.
There’s Las Vegas perennial Pro-Bowl DE Maxx Crosby, who is in his prime at the age of 27. Crosby has 5.5 sacks this year and had 14.5 in 2023.
Crosby played his college ball at Eastern Michigan, but the Raiders might insist on a pair of first-round picks to trade their star.
With the Browns struggling, perhaps DE Myles Garrett is an option?
With a win last night at the New York Giants, Cincinnati improved to 2-4 and isn’t going to give up on its season yet. However, if the Bengals don’t start ripping off a bunch of wins in the coming weeks, DE Trey Hendrickson might become available.
Hendrickson wouldn’t cost as much as Crosby and Garrett. In fact, a third-round pick might be enough to acquire Hendrickson.
Detroit also lost its other starting DE Marcus Davenport to a season-ending injury last month, so Hutchinson’s injury makes it even more urgent for Holmes to make a trade for a team that’s in its Super Bowl window right now.
FanDuel has the Lions with the fourth-shortest odds (+950) to win Super Bowl LIX. Kansas City is the +500 ‘chalk,’ followed by San Francisco (+650) and Baltimore (+950).
Detroit is listed as a two-point road underdog Sunday at undefeated Minnesota in a crucial NFC North showdown.