The Detroit Lions put a beatdown on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but they suffered a significant loss on the defensive side of the ball.
Lions star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson suffered a serious leg injury in the third quarter of Detroit's Week 6 game. It came on a play during which he sacked Dak Prescott but had his leg bend awkwardly when it hit his teammate Alim McNeill's leg.
Hutchinson immediately grabbed at his leg when he went to the ground. He ripped his gloves off and remained down as Detroit's medical staff tended to him.
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The game endured a significant delay as Hutchinson remained down. Eventually, he was carted off the field into the Lions' locker room.
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Numerous players on both the Lions and Cowboys surrounded the cart and gave Hutchinson well wishes before he left the field.
The Lions almost immediately ruled Hutchinson out with what the team referred to as a “lower leg injury.” That was hardly a surprise given the gruesome nature of the star pass rusher's injury.
Dan Campbell revealed during his postgame news conference that Hutchinson had suffered a broken tibia. The fourth-year coach also announced that the 2023 Pro Bowler is remaining in Dallas to have the injury further evaluated.
Campbell added that Hutchinson is in “good hands” and will be “down for a little while,” but he stopped short of providing a concrete timeline for the recovery.
“It's hard when you lose somebody like him,” Campbell told reporters. “But, we'll know a lot more after this and obviously, [we] wish him the best.”
Isaac Ukwu is the top listed backup edge rusher behind Hutchinson. The team also has James Houston on the roster, but he was a healthy scratch against the Cowboys.
The Lions were already thin on the edge before Hutchinson's injury because free agent acquisition Marcus Davenport suffered a torn triceps earlier in the season. They are now down to just a couple of healthy edge rushers in Ukwu and Josh Paschal with Hutchinson out of action.
The Lions will likely look to shore up their edge depth in the coming weeks, especially with Hutchinson's absence looking like a long one.
Hutchinson had one sack and three quarterback hits against the Cowboys before leaving because of his injury. He entered Week 6 with a season-high 6.5 sacks to his name and upped that number to 7.5 against Dallas.
(This story was updated to include new information.) Senior Writer
Detroit's Offense Explodes
ARLINGTON, Texas – After scoring a season-high 42 points the last time they took the field Week 4 in a win vs. Seattle, Detroit's offense was still feeling it coming out of the bye week as they put 47 more on the board in a 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys Sunday. The 38-point defeat is tied for the fifth worst loss in Cowboys history.
Detroit's defense was equally as impressive, holding Dallas to just 111 total yards and six points in the first half and 251 total yards and just the three field goals for the contest. Detroit's defense also forced five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles).
After the Cowboys opened the scoring with a 34-yard field goal on their opening drive of the game, Detroit responded with quick scoring drive of their own set up by a 42-yard catch down the right sideline by wide receiver Tim Patrick and capped off with a 16-yard David Montgomery touchdown.
It's the eighth straight game dating back to last year in which Montgomery has rushed for a touchdown, a new franchise record.
Dallas marched inside the Lions' 10-yard line on their second possession but second-year safety Brian Branch, who missed Detroit's last game vs. Seattle due to illness, picked off Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the end zone to thwart the scoring opportunity.
Jake Bates made it 10-3 early in the second quarter with a 40-yard field goal. Detroit made it 17-3 when offensive coordinator Ben Johnson went into his bag of tricks. Quarterback Jared Goff handed off to Montgomery who pitched it to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown coming around on a reverse. St. Brown pitched it back to Goff who found a streaking tight end Sam LaPorta down the right sideline for a 52-yard touchdown.
After Dallas added a late field goal right before halftime, Detroit got the opening kickoff of the second half and marched right down the field for their fourth touchdown of the game on a 37-yard pass from Goff to wide receiver Jameson Williams to make it 34-6.
Two short Bates field goals late in the third quarter and early in the fourth pushed the Lions' lead to 40-9.
After another Branch interception that he returned to the Dallas 4-yard line, Goff found St. Brown for a 4-yard touchdown on the next play to round out the scoring at 47-9.
Hutchinson's Injury Casts a Shadow
Unfortunately, it wasn't all positive for the Lions despite the final score.
After recording sack 7.5 of the season early in the third quarter, defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson left the game with a serious lower left leg injury that required a cart to come take him off the field. We'll update his status after talking to head coach Dan Campbell postgame.
Quarterback Comparison
QB Comparison: Goff continued his terrific play the last few weeks by completing 18-of-25 passes for 315 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 153.8 passer rating. That's coming off his 18-for-18 performance in the win over Seattle Week 4.
With the Lions leading 47-9 midway through the fourth quarter, the Lions put backup quarterback Hendon Hooker in the game. He completed one of his two pass attempts for 19 yards.
Prescott completed 17 of his 33 passes for 173 yards with no touchdowns, two interceptions and a passer rating of 42.2. He was replaced by backup Cooper Rush, who threw the last interception to Joseph.
Key Stats and Impact Moments
Key stat: The Lions' first-team offense scored on all nine of their possessions in the contest.
Their drive chart looked like this: Touchdown, field goal, touchdown, field goal, touchdown, touchdown, field goal, field goal, touchdown.
Impact moment: With under three minutes to play in the first half and the Cowboys trailing 20-3, Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy opted to go for a 4th & 2 at the Dallas 38-yard line.
Dallas failed to convert when Prescott's pass to wide receiver KaVontae Turpin fell incomplete. Detroit took over and marched the 38 yards in six plays and made the Cowboys pay with a 1-yard Montgomery touchdown to push the lead to 27-3.
Star Performance: Brian Branch Shines
Star performance: There were a lot of candidates for the Lions, but Branch recorded two interceptions, forced a fumble, had a quarterback hit and recorded six tackles.
Injury Report
Injury report: In addition to the Hutchinson injury, cornerback Carlton Davis III left the game to be evaluated for a concussion and did not return, and defensive tackle Kyle Peko injured a pectoral muscle trying to make a tackle and was ruled out.
What's Next for the Lions?
Up next: at Minnesota, Oct. 20, 1 p.m.
