When Aidan Hutchinson went down with a likely season-ending leg injury, Detroit Lions' defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn obviously had a big challenge ahead of him. If he was able to coax a good performance out of his unit, his resume as a head coaching candidate would be automatically bolstered.
There's obviously no replacing Hutchinson, even if trade deadline acquisition Za'Darius Smith quickly showed he's a great fit. But Detroit's defense has allowed 14 or less points in three of their last four games. This is where the detractors will point to opponent quality in two of those games and weather conditions in another. But the Lions' defense is getting it done.
Naturally, Glenn is gaining substantial steam as a top head coaching candidate as the 2025 hiring cycle approaches.
Lions' defensive performance without Aidan Hutchinson is fortifying Aaron Glenn's head coaching resume
In his look at the top candidates for the No. 1 playoff seed in each conference coming off their Week 11 game, ESPN's Bill Barnwell unveiled some interesting data about the Lions' defense.
"Since the Hutchinson injury, they rank third in points allowed per drive (1.43). Unsurprisingly, their pressure rate is below league-average over that stretch, and when they do get pressure, they only convert those opportunities to sacks at the eighth-lowest rate in the league."
With the reality that pressure on the quarterback has been hard to come by sans Hutchinson, Barnwell highlighted other areas where the Lions' defense has excelled lately.
"Instead, the Lions have tightened up in the situations that end drives and win games. Over their five games since the Hutchinson injury, they've allowed offenses to convert 31% of their third-down opportunities, the third-best rate in football. They've also allowed five touchdowns in 13 trips inside the red zone, the fifth-best mark over that stretch."
"The Lions have forced takeaways on just over 16% of opposing drives since the Hutchinson injury, the fifth-highest rate for any unit."
Barnwell also passed along how Glenn is deploying coverage and dialing up blitzes in critical situations since Hutchinson went down, as a reflection of trust in the remaining talent he has at is disposal.
"Glenn trusts his guys and has them playing man coverage 52.2% of the time since the Hutchinson injury, the highest rate for any defense. They play press man coverage nearly 32% of the time, which is a league-high and more than double the league average of 12.6%. And when they get to third down, Glenn has been blitzing a whopping 58% of the time, 10 percentage points more than any other defense over the past five weeks."
Losing Hutchinson was going to test Glenn's creativity and adaptability in ways it hadn't been tested before as a defensive play-caller. He is passing that test with flying colors, even if the Lions' offense naturally garners more headlines.