Aidan Hutchinson wasn’t born when Alex Karras, Roger Brown and the rest of the Fearsome Foursome roamed the Detroit Lions’ vaunted defensive line in the 1960s.
He wasn’t alive when Doug English and Bubba Baker’s Silver Rush wreaked havoc in the 1970s and ‘80s. And he was 9 years old when the Lions drafted Ndamukong Suh, who led his own defensive-line wrecking crew in the 2010s.
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I don’t know how much sense of history Hutchinson has about his position group within this organization. But after his three-sack performance in Sunday’s 36-27 win over the Washington Commanders at a frenzied Ford Field, the rookie showed us that he has the kind of talent that could make him part of the Lions’ heritage of defensive-line excellence.
With all those names and all that history, none of those players ever recorded three sacks in a game as a rookie. Not until Sunday, when Hutchinson made good on the promise that made him the No. 2 overall pick by showing off what might be the best motor going in the Motor City.
“Um … it’s pretty damn cool,” Hutchinson said of his rookie record. “I think it’s a culmination of every guy on that defensive line. I think everyone just doing their jobs and I got a lot of the fruits of it this week.
“I’m just blessed. I thought I made the most of my opportunities this week.”
Here’s the thing about Hutchinson’s sacks. They weren’t of the dominant variety, the come-off-the-edge clean, bull-rush a dude, blow past a tackle sacks that football fans adore when they come from guys like Khalil Mack or the Watt brothers.
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Hutchinson’s sacks were something else. They were part play-calling but mostly effort. And also plenty of learning from one week to the next. He often got close to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the opener, but never brought him down.
“Yeah, look he played better than he did last week,” coach Dan Campbell said. “You know, he was much more detailed with how he rushed and much more disciplined — kind of with really everybody.
“And so he did, he was better but so was everybody around him, which helps him be better. That’s really the best way to answer it.”
I had just asked Campbell the question that elicited that response. Campbell had been asked earlier in the postgame news conference about Hutchinson and diverted the attention to the entire defensive line’s effort. So I told Campbell it sounded like he was downplaying a pretty amazing day for Hutchinson.
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“Listen, I’m fired up, Carlos,” Campbell said, clenching his fists in the air and flashing a big smile. “I am, I love it. Three sacks. I hope we get three more and he gives us three more next week.
“And I haven’t seen the tape, but just from what I saw out there and how everything was run and the stunts and I thought he did a great job, I did. I’m not down on him or something. I thought he did a great job, but I thought all those guys did too. They all funneled into each other, you know?”
It’s true. Even for Campbell, it’s hard to discern every nuance during the fog of war of an NFL game. Last week, Campbell was more encouraged by his team’s performance after he reviewed the game film. Maybe that will happen again this week when he watches the film of Hutchinson’s play.
I had the luxury of watching highlights of Hutchinson’s three sacks and Campbell was right that the entire line working as a unit helped produce those sacks. It was only on the final sack that was specifically designed for him to freely rush Carson Wentz — while John Cominsky took up two blockers — that Hutchinson blew past the defense and took out the QB.
Afterward, in the locker room, Hutchinson admitted something he as quickly learned in the NFL, where every player is big, fast, strong and smart.
“Sacks are a very tedious thing,” he said, “so you need everyone clicking and I thought we were clicking today.”
Even at 6 feet 7 and 264 pounds, Hutchinson hasn’t grown into his body. He doesn’t quite have the strength that can overpower massive offensive tackles. But he has a relentlessness that should make him at least a consistent threat, if not a star for the Lions.
Time will tell how far Hutchinson goes. But if you heard the roars at Ford Field and you felt the excitement Hutchinson stirred with his spirited play and production, it seemed like the rookie had just authored the start of another chapter in the storied past of this team’s great defensive lines.
Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.