The Detroit Lions fell flat in their first game since the Washington Commanders marched into Ford Field and summarily dismissed the NFC’s top seed from playoff contention back in January.
But what the Lions lacked at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday is precisely what star Aidan Hutchinson said such a loss will help them find heading into a second consecutive NFC North division contest against the Chicago Bears next weekend.
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“We’re gonna do it how we always do it. And I know we have a good history of responding. And we have another divisional [game], I believe, next week. I think it’s going to be good for us,” Hutchinson said Monday, September 8, per Woodward Sports Network. “There’s a lot of expectations this year. Come in, lose like that, I’m sure a lot of people will be really down on us, and that’s where we thrive — when everyone doesn’t believe in us anymore. I’m sure everyone’s going to be talking, but I think what we do really well is when this adversity hits, we put the blinders on — we go.”
Lions Defense Was Decent Against Packers in Week 1, but Pass Rush Was Lacking
The Lions defense wasn’t overwhelming against the Packers, but it wasn’t terrible as a whole, either.
Detroit held Green Bay to 266 total yards, including less than 200 yards through the air (188) and kept the ground game in check to the tune of 3.1 yards per rush attempt (25 tries for 78 total yards). However, the Lions had trouble keeping the Packers off the scoreboard, surrendering 27 points on the afternoon, and were also unable to force a turnover.
A considerable question facing Detroit’s defense coming into the season was how the pass rush would fare. The team did not bring Za’Darius Smith back, for whom it traded with the Cleveland Browns ahead of last year’s midseason deadline. The Lions drafted edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein out of Boise State in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft, but released him on August 27.
The only other edge rushers on the roster — aside from Hutchinson, who returned to action over the weekend for the first time since breaking his leg in Week 5 of last season — are Marcus Davenport, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Tyrus Wheat. The three appeared in 19 games combined in 2024, tallying a total of four sacks between them.
Aidan Hutchinson, Lions Defense Were Unable to Make Packers QB Jordan Love Uncomfortable in Week 1
Predictably, the Lions didn’t make life all that difficult on Jordan Love during his 22 pass attempts on the afternoon, tallying just two QB hits and zero sacks.
Hutchinson produced two total pressures, one hurry and one hit on Love over the course of 43 snaps played in the game.
Detroit will host Chicago at Ford Field next Sunday after the Bears fell to the Minnesota Vikings in a stunning loss at Soldier Field on “Monday Night Football” after entering the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead. The loser of the Lions-Bears matchup next weekend will be the only NFC North team with an 0-2 record two weeks into the season.
The Lions are currently 5.5-point favorites to win the contest, per ESPN BET.
