Aidan Hutchinson had three sacks last Sunday against the Washington Commanders, but defensive line coach Todd Wash thinks the Lions rookie could’ve had more.
After a too easily-maligned NFL debut against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, Lions rookie defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was in line to be better in Week 2 against the Washington Commanders.
And better he was indeed, with three first half sacks against the Commanders with Carson Wentz much easier to corral than Jalen Hurts is. Being a little more in control, with one game in the books and first game-related nerves gone, surely helped too.
A leg injury in the second half has been dismissed as a charley horse, which defensive line coach Todd Wash said happened when Hutchinson “got kneed in the thigh” on the goal line.
Aidan Hutchinson could have…doubled his Week 2 sack total?
Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Wash went a little further on Hutchinson’s Week 2 performance–suggesting there were more sacks that could’ve easily been had.
When he was in position to make the plays he did, for the most part,” Lions defensive line coach Todd Wash said Wednesday. “I still think he left about two or three sacks out there, and that’s kind of a big thing we’re talking to him (about) is you’ve got to make the plays that you are capable of making and it would have really been an impressive game if he’d have done that.”
There may actually be something to Wash’s assessment that Hutchinson “left about two or three sacks out there.”
As Birkett reminded us, Hutchinson missed a sack in the first quarter when he beat Commanders tight end John Bates on a bull rush and Wentz slipped outside the pocket to throw the ball away. Then in the fourth quarter, he missed another sack as Wentz scrambled on a third-and-four to extend Washington’s last touchdown drive.
Given how well he generally played against Washington, any negative on Hutchinson coming out of that game feels like nitpicking. But once he rounds of some rougher edges in his game, the Lions are lined up to have one of the premium pass rushers in the league.