On same day, Lions get key win, key loss with Vikings on horizon

Every player who sustains a significant injury matters. But occasionally, an injury robs a team of a player who significantly matters. That was the black cloud draping the Lions’ 47-9 victory at Dallas on Sunday after medical personnel carted off Aidan Hutchinson in the third quarter.

“If you love football, watch this guy play,” said former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett on Sunday’s edition of Football Night in America. “He’s what every coach wants; he’s what every teammate wants on their team. He’s certainly been the symbol for what they’re building up there in Detroit. He leads the league in sacks, but that other thing, the impact that he has on the team, how he plays, how much he loves it, they’re going to feel this.”

Hutchinson felt the pain of a broken tibia in an unfortunate collision with teammate Alim McNeil early in the second half. He reportedly underwent immediate surgery and remained overnight in a Dallas-area hospital. Early reports indicate Hutchinson might return earlier than initially expected but the injury is unquestionably one of the most serious a player can sustain.

“It’s always really tough on a team when you go get a big win like that on the road and you lose a player like that in the game,” said former Super Bowl winner Devin McCourty on Football Night in America. “Those guys are going to have to rally, figure it out, and I’m sure they’re going to be checking in on him.”

Hutchinson, who leads the NFL with 7.5 sacks entering Monday night’s game, isn’t just a Lions ambassador. The second-overall selection out of Michigan in the 2021 NFL Draft, Hutchinson is a native of Plymouth, Mich., and prepped at Divine Child High School, 18 miles from Ford Field.

But as McCourty said, the Lions will have to rally without Hutchinson. That wasn’t something Detroit had to do on Sunday, though. After the Cowboys won the opening toss and elected to receive, posting an early field goal, the Lions scored 27 unanswered points. Obviously with their controversial 2023 loss at Dallas fresh on their minds, the Lions reported Dan Skipper as a tackle-eligible receiver on their first play from scrimmage. Detroit finished the game having reported an offensive lineman as eligible 12 times, something the Cowboys called a satirical joke.

No one in Dallas was laughing, especially owner Jerry Jones. On his 82^nd birthday, the Lions gifted him with the worst loss of his 35-year Cowboys ownership. Detroit took a 17-3 lead on a creatively executed flea-flicker that ended with Jared Goff’s 52-yard touchdown to Sam LaPorta. And when Detroit wasn’t surprising the Cowboys’ defense, the Lions were bludgeoning them up front.

David Montgomery answered his organization’s contract extension with 12 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns.

And Goff kept Dallas off balance with a strong play-action attack, completing 18 of 25 attempts for 315 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, a 153.8 passer rating. LaPorta, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams were on the other end of his equal-opportunity touchdown passes. And on the heels of his 155.8 rating against Seattle prior to Detroit’s Week 5 bye, Goff became only the second player in NFL history with back-to-back games of 150-plus passer ratings. Drew Brees (Weeks 10-11, 2018) is the only other individual to accomplish that, per the NFL.

Goff also registered his 27^th career game with 300 passing yards and a passer rating of at least 100.0. He tied Kirk Cousins (27) for the second-most such games ever by an NFL player over his first nine seasons. Only Patrick Mahomes (28 games – currently in his eighth season) has more.

Without Hutchinson, the Lions now prepare for an NFC North showdown on the road against the Vikings (5-0), fresh off their bye. Since the NFL expanded to 32 teams and realigned into eight four-team divisions, the 2024 NFC North is the first division in which every team has at least four wins through a season’s first six weeks.