Detroit Lions put clinic on Dallas Cowboys but Aidan Hutchinson injury mars 47-9 beatdown
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Detroit Lions looked like the best team in the NFC — maybe all of football — for most of Sunday’s 47-9 win over the decimated Dallas Cowboys.
And while they might be, their road to their first Super Bowl got significantly more difficult when they lost their best defensive player, Aidan Hutchinson, to a tibia fracture of his left leg suffered early in the third quarter.
Hutchinson was injured with 11:43 left in the third quarter, when his leg whipped into teammate Alim McNeill as he took Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott to the ground for a sack.
Hutchinson was placed on a stretcher and carted off the field, and his injury leaves a huge hole in a Lions defense that already was without two of its other top edge rushers, Marcus Davenport and Derrick Barnes. Davenport suffered a season-ending torn triceps in Week 3 vs. Arizona, and Barnes likely is out for the season with a knee injury he suffered in the same game.
REQUIRED READING: Lions look like Super Bowl favorite vs. Cowboys, but Aidan Hutchinson loss is incalculable
The Lions weathered Hutchinson’s absence Sunday without much issue. They led 34-6 at the time of his injury, allowed a field goal on the drive he got hurt, then forced a fumble on Dallas’ next possession and ran away with an easy victory.
But things will unquestionably get more difficult from here.
The Lions have to figure out a way to generate more edge pressure, either with the current defensive ends on their roster — Josh Paschal, Isaac Ukwa, James Houston, plus tackle Levi Onwuzurike, who can play as an edge in some situations — or by acquiring talent in the trade market.
The Lions (4-1) do not have let-ups on a schedule that takes them to the Minnesota Vikings (5-0) for a showdown with the NFC North-leaders next Sunday in Week 7, followed by games against the Tennessee Titans (at home) and Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans on the road.
The NFC North is the best division in football, with all four teams above .500. And the Lions have played like a top-10 defense through their first five games.
Their offense has found its rhythm after a slow start; they scored on nine of their first 10 possessions Sunday, with the only exception coming on a one-snap kneel-down possession late in the first half.
REQUIRED READING: Lions exorcise demons with one epic cathartic, payback victory over Cowboys
The Lions have scored at least 40 points in consecutive games for the first time since 1962, and Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are the first running back duo in NFL history to each produce 70 or more scrimmage yards in each of the first five games of a season.
But there’s a lot of season left and navigating it without Hutchinson won’t be easy.
Three more thoughts on Sunday’s win:
Big Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson continues to show why he’s one of the best offensive play-callers in football.
Johnson opened Sunday’s game in a six-lineman set, an homage to last year’s tackle-eligible play that officials administered incorrectly and cost the Lions a victory in Dallas. He called a pass out of a seven-lineman formation in which both Taylor Decker and Dan Skipper reported as eligible; last year, Decker reported as eligible on the would-be go-ahead 2-point play, but officials incorrectly announced Skipper as the eligible extra lineman. And Johnson dialed up a hook-and-lateral to right tackle Penei Sewell while leading 37-9 in the second half.
Sewell nearly scored on the play, if not for a penalty on Frank Ragnow; Sewell’s forearm hit the ground short of the goal line as he dove for a TD, so I’m not sure what replay would have ruled.
TRENDING: Tom Brady absolutely LOVES Detroit Lions offense vs. Cowboys
The Lions might have been better saving that hook-and-lateral for a game they actually needed it, but it was good to see Johnson and the offense take a crushing approach to a game that clearly meant a lot to the organization after all the close calls it has had in Dallas. They played with a swagger that carried over to the rest of the team, and they’ll need that same no-holds-barred mindset going forward.
Brian Branch is back
The Lions' dynamic safety duo was back causing havoc again Sunday; it's one reason to believe this defense won’t take a major tumble even with Hutchinson out.
Branch, who missed the Lions’ Week 4 win over the Seattle Seahawks with an illness, intercepted two passes and forced a fumble, and Kerby Joseph had his fourth interception of the season in the fourth quarter against backup quarterback Cooper Rush.
Branch is the Lions’ defensive tone-setter, much like Montgomery is on offense. He’s always around the ball, he’s a punishing hitter, and his first interception Sunday, when he sagged off his man in the flat to pick off a Prescott pass to CeeDee Lamb in the end zone, was a thing of beauty.
Joseph’s interception also was an end-zone pick, as all three of his previous takeaways this year have been.
Contract game
One day after he signed a two-year contract extension, Montgomery showed why the Lions value his contributions so much in their backfield.
Montgomery opened the game with a 5-yard run and scored the Lions’ first touchdown, when he got 6 yards downfield before he was touched by a defender, then broke a tackle as a lunged over the goal line.
Montgomery finished with 12 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns, and ran with the power and ferocity that has endeared him to Lions coach Dan Campbell and his teammates.
He’s 27 and in his sixth NFL season, and his contract now runs for three more years. He’s at an age where teams are usually hesitant to give running backs guaranteed money, but the Lions’ weekend investment ($18.5 million total with $10.5 million guaranteed) seems prudent given what he means to the offense.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
Dave Birkett will sign copies of his new book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline" at 7 p.m., Oct. 21, at 24 Seconds Bar & Grill in Berkley, and from 5:30-7 p.m., Oct. 22 at Stadium Cards & Comics in Ypsilanti.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions put clinic on Cowboys but Aidan Hutchinson injury mars 47-9 win
