You might expect the NFL’s top quarterback pressure leader to be a high-paid superstar like as Nick Bosa, Maxx Crosby, or T.J. Watt. It’s Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who leads the league with 42 pressures in only his second season.
But Hutchinson has only 6.5 sacks.
Except for Bosa, every other player on that list had a double-digit point total after 13 games. Except for Watt, every other player on the list has missed fewer than ten tackles. 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.
Due to a lack of aid up front, the unit ranks 24th in terms of sack rate. They allow over 20 first downs per game to opponents, ranking 19th. The Lions are struggling in the red zone, allowing opponents to score 68.18% of the time, the league’s third-highest rate. They are tied for 28th in goal-to-go rate. Detroit needed all 41 points to beat the Chargers in Week 10. The Lions offense has scored 25 or more points seven times this season, and the team is 6-1 in those scenarios.
When the offense was in full strength, the points and yards allowed by the defense went unnoticed. The offensive has battled 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?
Alim McNeill, a defensive tackle, is on injured reserve until at least week 18. He is one of the league’s most underappreciated defensive tackles, and Hutchinson has undoubtedly benefited from McNeill on the interior, but I don’t believe McNeill is sufficient to create opportunities for Hutchinson.
That’s especially true given Hutchinson’s bookend on the other side of the line: John Cominsky. Cominsky is an excellent rotational player, but he is not drawing attention away from Hutchinson. If anything, he’s benefited greatly from the attention Hutchinson attracts.
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