Aidan Hutchinson Owned Mistake, Still Trusted to Make Plays

Lions still believe in Hutchinson despite mistakes.

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson wasted no time taking the blame for his decision to call a stunt that allowed Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields to run for a touchdown in Week 14. 

The second-year pass-rusher elected to put a stunt call on a third-down rush, twisting inside rather than keeping contain. As an immediate result, Fields scrambled to the edge without the threat of contain and ran for a score. 

Hutchinson took accountability for the mistake during his postgame media availability, and both head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn remain steadfast in their trust in the defender.

Glenn said he understood the defender's decision-making process. Throughout the game, the Bears had slid their pass protection toward Hutchinson. As a result, Hutchinson made a call he believed would work. 

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"There are opportunities for our players to make calls within the call, because we believe in our players and they're smart players," Glenn said. "One thing that happened in that game is, often they were sliding to Hutch. Hutch was out there to try and make a play on that play. It was third-and-11, man, he was trying to get to the quarterback, which he likes to do and all D-linemen like to do."

Hutchinson has operated in the eye of the public since being drafted No. 2 overall in 2022. As a result, he is subject to raised levels of both praise and criticism. 

However, the Lions believe that he will make more plays than mistakes over the course of his career. While holding him accountable, Glenn isn't holding these setbacks against the talented young payer. 

"When you're the second pick in the draft, when you come in and have the success he's had, the thing that comes with that is expectations and criticism," Glenn explained. "So, he doesn't care. You know how people say you have a job, it's your job to make him go here and make him go there. But, he's not, he's not gonna always be there, and I always talk to him about that. 

"As a former player, it's part of the job. But, listen, that player's made a lot of plays for us, and everyone's on him for the fact that he made those plays. Listen, it was a mistake, he owned up to it and man, we're moving on," Glenn commented further. "I want him to understand that and operate like that, because those mistakes that he made, he made a ton of plays for us. I try to have him focus on those things, not those mistakes." 

Branch focusing on nickel position

Rookie safety Brian Branch started his career off hot with a pick-six in his debut against the Kansas City Chiefs. He quickly became a mainstay in Detroit's defense as the nickel cornerback. 

His rapid ascent led the team to find new ways to involve him in the defense. Against Chicago, however, the Lions deployed Branch on just 37 snaps. That marks his lowest total since Week 7, when he played just 30 snaps. 

The decision to do so stems from Glenn's choice to have the rookie focus on playing the nickel position, rather than playing multiple spots within the secondary. 

The coordinator wanted to allow the rookie to concentrate on doing one job, as opposed to multiple. 

"The thing I want to do with that player is let him focus in on one job. I look at it the same way when I had Chauncey (Gardner-Johnson) when I was in New Orleans, he was playing some safety, playing some nickel," Glenn explained. "That was a lot within that, because of what we ask those guys at that position to do. I wanted to make sure that I dialed it back for him, let him focus on nickel, let him play nickel. And, I thought it was a really good game for him. 

"As far as the stats, he didn't get a chance to be productive like he's been, but I thought he did a really good job in just playing the nickel. Also, I wanted to make sure 'Iffy' (Ifeatu Melifonwu) got as many reps as he could at the safety spot."