Tag: aidan hutchinson

Watch: George Kittle handles Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson with powerful block

George Kittle met Lions’ defensive end Aidan Hutchinson in the trenches.

While George Kittle’s pass-catching ability usually is what makes headlines, the five-time Pro Bowl tight end is just as dangerous of a weapon in the run game. In the NFC championship, Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers were tasked with slowing down Detroit Lions’ star edge defender Aidan Hutchinson.

As Shanahan dialed up an inside run to Christian McCaffrey, Kittle was tasked with blocking Hutchinson on the edge. In a one-on-one battle in the trenches, the veteran tight end buried Hutchinson with a powerful block.

Via @NFL on Twitter:

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Detroit Lions best and worst PFF grades from the playoff win over the Bucs

Let’s take a look at the best and worst PFF graded players for the Detroit Lions in their victorious encounter with the Buccaneers.

Following their triumph over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Detroit Lions are now on the cusp of glory, eyeing the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The victory was the result of a collective effort from all three phases, reflecting the Lions’ characteristic resilience in close matches. This team is built to adapt, with each phase compensating when one aspect takes a moment to find its rhythm. While key players delivered outstanding performances that propelled the Lions to victory, there were also areas where improvement is needed as they prepare to face San Francisco.

Let’s take a look at the best and worst PFF graded players for the Lions in their victorious encounter with the Buccaneers.

USC fans are definitely rooting for the Lions to beat the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game

Go USC. Go Lions.

The San Francisco 49ers do have a couple of USC Trojans on their roster. However, Talanoa Hufanga and Drake Jackson are both inactive for the NFC Championship Game this coming Sunday. The Detroit Lions will definitely be the choice of most USC football fans for two obvious reasons.

First, Amon-Ra St. Brown has had a terrific season in Detroit. He has become a central component of the Lions’ offense and their go-to guy when they need a 3rd and 6 conversion to seal a game or keep a key drive alive. St. Brown has made hugely important and timely catches late in games to provide the defining difference for a franchise which has returned to the NFC title game for the first time in 32 years. St. Brown has been a game-changer for Detroit. USC fans want him to taste Super Bowl glory.

The other reason USC fans will root for the Lions is that Aidan Hutchinson — Detroit’s star pass rusher — is a product of Shaun Nua, the man who developed Hutchinson at Michigan before moving to USC. Hutchinson making the Super Bowl would give Nua a bigger, better recruiting pitch to make on the trail in search of game-changing pass rushers who would bolster the Trojans’ defense heading into the Big Ten.

Go USC? Go Lions. Detroit winning would elevate USC’s national profile to a considerable degree.

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Aidan Hutchinson headlines 4 Lions who made the All-NFC team

Aidan Hutchinson headlines 4 Lions who made the All-NFC team from PFWA

The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) announced the 2023 All-NFC team. The Detroit Lions, one of two remaining NFC teams in the playoffs, were well-represented on the list.

Four Lions earned All-NFC nods, led by DE Aidan Hutchinson. No. 97 joined San Francisco’s Nick Bosa on the all-conference team at end.

Two Detroit offensive players made the cut, too. Wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell also earned All-NFC honors. Sewell was the only Lions player to earn All-NFL status.

Special teams ace Jalen Reeves-Maybin earned his All-NFC nod for his work on the punt and kick units. The full team, from the PFWA press release:

In the spirit of disclosure, I am a PFWA voter and voted for all four Lions who earned All-NFC, as well as TE Sam LaPorta and P Jack Fox.

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PFF grades from Lions wild card round victory over Rams

Breaking down the top and bottom Lions performers in PFF grades from the playoff win over the Rams

For most the win over the Rams last night was the first playoff win in their lifetime. Watching it was one way of enjoying it but do the PFF numbers provide another way for it to show the game was won by the Lions?

All season longPFF has been able to show that this Lions team is good no matter what way you look at it. Players such as Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchison and Amon-Ra St. Brown all had high grades all year. Their play on the field reflected that with them going as far to even earn All-Pro honors.

In Sunday’s playoff game the generous PFF grades rolled on but so did some critical one. Find them all here as we get ready to look ahead to their division-round matchup against either the Buccaneers or Eagles.

Studs & Duds for the Lions playoff victory over the Rams

The Detroit Lions Studs and Duds for their playoff victory over the Los Angeles Rams

The Detroit Lions have finally broken a decades-long playoff drought, securing their first playoff victory in over 30 years with a narrow 24-23 win against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Lions dominated the early stages of the game, establishing an early lead. However, the second half became a defensive battle where the Lions showcased their supremacy by making crucial stops. Despite the mainstream media framing the game as Matthew Stafford’s return to Detroit, it was, in fact, Jared Goff’s revenge against his former team that ultimately led Detroit to victory.

The entire Lions community is buzzing with excitement on this triumphant day, with well-deserved praise circulating. While there is much to celebrate, there are also areas that need attention as the Lions gear up for the next round, where they will face either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s delve into this week’s Studs and Duds from the Lions’ playoff victory against the Rams.

Breaking down the Lions vs. Rams matchup according to PFF

Breaking down the Lions vs. Rams matchup according to PFF metrics

The highly anticipated matchup between the Lions and Rams is finally here. With it comes the return of Matthew Stafford and general manager Brad Holmes showing what his roster can do against his former team.

Outside of the media-friendly headlines courtesy of the returns we will see, there are deep numbers to look at.

PFF has been showing all year that players like Aidan Hutchison, Penei Sewell, and others have had strong numbers both on film and by the numbers. What do the numbers say in regard to how they match up according to PFF and their analytics?

The matchup is much more interesting than just headlines. Check out how the Lions and Rams matchup position group by position group to see who has the edge.

Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson joins elite company with superb 2023 season

Hutch became just the fifth player to ever rack up 100 QB pressures in a single season

No doubt about it, I’m a film junkie and use it for just about every article that I write. The stat sheet and the analytics tell one story but film tells a completely different story. Certainly, I think analytics are a great measuring stick on where a player stands in comparison to other players at their position but it’s not the above all be all.

With that, I think Pro Football Focus (PFF) does a tremendous job with how they analyze the game. They have a bunch of data that helps sort out some of the blurriness that comes with the game of football.

One thing that we’ve been monitoring all season here in Detroit is how well defensive end Aidan Hutchinson has been playing. After a strong rookie season, Hutch built off that with an even better one this year. Playing in all 17 games, he had 51 tackles with 11.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss.

Most importantly, Hutchinson joined elite company. According to Sam Monson of PFF, Hutchinson had 101 total pressures this season. The only player who had more this season was Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys, with 103 pressures. That said, both players became just the 4th and 5th players since they’ve been tracked to record 100 or more pressures in the regular season.

The other three players were J.J. Watt, Maxx Crosby and Aaron Donald. Not bad for a player who was expected to be the first overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft — but apparently, his arms were too short. One thing is for sure: Lions fans are happy to have Hutchinson, and we look forward to his continued growth in Detroit.

Raiders Week 18 snap counts vs Broncos: Maxx Crosby finishes with DL NFL best snaps

Maxx Crosby has his 10th complete game of the season to finish with DL NFL best snap count

Another game for the Raiders means another game in which Maxx Crosby didn’t leave the field on defense. For the 10th time this season, Crosby played every snap. He finishes the season having played over 95% of the team’s snaps, which is the most in the NFL. Which, as AP’s Josh Dubow points out is nothing new for the Raiders’ iron man.

Crosby’s 1079 snaps was tops by a wide margin. And he did it while missing part of a game to a knee injury. No other defensive lineman in the NFL this season cracked the 1K mark in snaps. Hutchinson came in at 988. The equivalent of two full games.

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Dylan Parham G 66 100% 5 20%
Kolton Miller T 66 100% 5 20%
Andre James C 66 100% 0 0%
Jermaine Eluemunor T 66 100% 0 0%
Greg Van Roten G 64 97% 5 20%
Aidan O’Connell QB 63 95% 0 0%
Davante Adams WR 62 94% 0 0%
Jakobi Meyers WR 58 88% 0 0%
Austin Hooper TE 57 86% 0 0%
Zamir White RB 48 73% 4 16%
Tre Tucker WR 42 64% 6 24%
Ameer Abdullah RB 18 27% 13 52%
Zach Gentry TE 18 27% 0 0%
Jakob Johnson FB 14 21% 12 48%
Hunter Renfrow WR 5 8% 0 0%
DeAndre Carter WR 4 6% 14 56%
Jimmy Garoppolo QB 3 5% 0 0%
DJ Turner WR 2 3% 18 72%
Brandon Parker T 2 3% 5 20%
Jordan Meredith G 2 3% 5 20%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Marcus Epps SS 61 100% 0 0%
Robert Spillane LB 61 100% 0 0%
Tre’von Moehrig FS 61 100% 0 0%
Nate Hobbs CB 61 100% 0 0%
Maxx Crosby DE 61 100% 0 0%
Divine Deablo LB 59 97% 3 12%
Jack Jones CB 54 89% 0 0%
Amik Robertson CB 48 79% 4 16%
Malcolm Koonce DE 44 72% 6 24%
Adam Butler DT 30 49% 5 20%
Bilal Nichols DT 27 44% 2 8%
John Jenkins DT 26 43% 2 8%
Tyree Wilson DE 25 41% 2 8%
Jerry Tillery DT 22 36% 2 8%
Brandon Facyson CB 12 20% 5 20%
Matthew Butler DT 9 15% 5 20%
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 5 8% 20 80%
Janarius Robinson DE 5 8% 2 8%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Brandon Bolden RB 0 0% 20 80%
Curtis Bolton LB 0 0% 20 80%
Luke Masterson LB 0 0% 20 80%
Christopher Smith SS 0 0% 14 56%
Amari Burney LB 0 0% 14 56%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 11 44%
Jacob Bobenmoyer LS 0 0% 9 36%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 9 36%
Hroniss Grasu C 0 0% 5 20%
Jakorian Bennett CB 0 0% 3 12%

Quick takeaways from the Lions Week 18 win over the Vikings

Quick takeaways from the Lions Week 18 win over the Vikings

The Lions proved they were the worthy NFC North champions, successfully vanquishing the visiting Minnesota Vikings in Week 18. Detroit’s 30-20 home win in the regular-season finale lifted the Lions to a 12-5 finish while saddling the Vikings to a 7-10 record.

It was a surprisingly eventful game for a matchup that didn’t have a lot of critical playoff implications. Here are some of the notable takeaways from watching the game in real time.

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