Film Review: Aidan Hutchinson Asserts Dominance against Panthers

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is playing at an elite level through five games. Currently, he leads the team with 4.5 sacks, and leads the entire NFL with 35 pressures. 

He's on pace for a whopping 119 pressures over the course of the 2023 campaign. There are high expectations for his performance, as he is tabbed with the fourth-best odds to win the Defensive Player of the Year award. 

Performances like Sunday, against the Carolina Panthers, lend levity to this theory. He was a major difference-maker, with a sack, a tackle for loss and an interception. 

Here is a film breakdown of why Hutchinson was so impactful in Sunday's showdown. 

Tackle for loss

Here, Hutchinson lines up outside of Carolina's tight end in anticipation of his rush. The Panthers send Leviska Shenault across the formation, likely to gauge whether Detroit is in man or zone coverage. 

Will Harris goes with Shenault, indicating man coverage, and bumps Jerry Jacobs to the short side of the field. Shenault comes back across in motion, and gets the jet-sweep handoff. 

Hutchinson leverages inside of the tight end with his inside arm, creating enough space to shoot the gap and make the play on the runner. He rips his left arm through and dispatches of his blocker, then recovers his momentum to make the play.

Interception

On Carolina's second possession, Hutchinson recorded the fourth interception of his young career. It's not common for defensive linemen to be so impactful in coverage, but the Michigan product is a different type of athlete. This play indicates why. 

Once again, he's standing up in a wide-nine, outside of the tight end. He engages with Ian Thomas, in an effort to do his patented bull-rush with his right arm. But, Thomas breaks off his block, in anticipation of the screen pass coming his way. 

Hutchinson quickly diagnoses this. He gets a step too far upfield, but his athleticism and concentration are what make a difference. Reaching out with his right hand, he secures the pass, and takes it the other way to put Detroit in solid field position.

His role in Alim McNeill's forced fumble

Here, Hutchinson is lined up over the tight end. His body is square, rather than in his rush stance that he deploys most snaps. With the run going the opposite way, he angles his pursuit to take away the cut-back lane for Miles Sanders.

He splits the C gap between tackle and tight end, negating the attempted zone block by Tremble. Furthermore, he pushes Carolina's right tackle nearly into Sanders, which adds to the effort in negating a cut-back.

Tremble is able to regain leverage on Hutchinson and take him to the turf, but Detroit's interior takes over. Alim McNeill punches the ball out amidst the scrum, and Harris recovers.

Collapsing the pocket

Lined up in a three-point stance outside the tight end, Hutchinson demonstrates a strong burst off the ball. As the tight end vacates, it leaves only Carolina right tackle Taylor Moton in his way. 

Using a bull-rush, Hutchinson collapses the pocket around Bryce Young. He nearly gets a hand on the passer, but goes to the ground when he runs into another blocker. 

Isaiah Buggs does a strong job of turning the passer and making him go sideways, and Benito Jones' late pressure forces a throwaway. 

More pressure

Hutchinson is once again lined up in a three-point stance outside of Moton. Without the tight end, the second-year rusher doesn't receive a chip block in his pursuit of Young. 

He's able to use his leverage to put heat on the passer, but Moton wraps his right arm around Hutchinson's chest to prevent him from doing damage. The rusher goes to the turf. 

In this scenario, Alex Anzalone comes after Young, and forces the throw away. Though Hutchinson didn't record the sack, he forced the quarterback to quickly dispatch of the ball before the Lions' defense could do any more damage.

Sack

Hutchinson lines up wide of the tackle. His ability to do damage out of a three-point stance is noteworthy, as it is an example of his burst off the ball and pursuit angle. 

Here, he recovers from a solid chip from the tight end, and engages with the offensive tackle. As Young steps up into the pocket, he follows suit, and catches the quarterback from the back side. 

He initiates the contact with his right arm, before using his strength to corral him. It was the latest in a series of impressive pass-rush wins for Hutchinson, who continues to ascend in his second season as a Lion.