Aidan Hutchinson shows his MVP mettle in helping Lions defense close out Ravens

One of the top narratives about the 2024 Detroit Lions was how much the team missed standout defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, especially down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Hutchinson's presence is vital up front, because he can change the game by himself within a handful of plays. That dynamic was on full display in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens. While Hutchinson didn't start fast, he finished incredibly strong statistically and otherwise to make a major impact.

Pro Football Focus was impressed with Hutchinson's Week 3 effort. He had the top run defense grade in the league at 93.1, and also registered nine pressures on the night, tied for the second highest total in the league to go with a sack and a forced fumble. The metrics placed him amongst the top defensive ends in the league.

With the game in the balance, Hutchinson delivered his two biggest plays of the night and was able to make a clear impact on the outcome of the game. It was easily the biggest ingredient that was missing from Detroit's defense last season in crunch time.

Hutchinson is an MVP-caliber player, even as he attempts to acclimate after returning from injury. The fact that he was able to burst on the scene in the biggest moment to impact a game so early in the season shows how good he might be by season's end.

Hutchinson was unfazed by slow start against tough Ravens' offense

By night's end, Hutchinson ended up as one of the most important players in the game. He had a vital forced fumble as well as a critical sack in the fourth-quarter to thwart key Baltimore drives. Early on, Hutchinson didn't show up with that many dynamic plays, but as the game wore on, his impact became much more impressive.

As Hutchinson explained, while it took some time for things to get going for the defense, they were always playing in tandem. It made it easier for him to stick with the game plan and find the space to make game-changing plays in the end even as things were a periodic struggle in the beginning.

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"I feel like a lot of the run game, I wasn't getting a ton of action. (In the) pass game, Lamar (Jackson) was good scrambling in the first-half, then our rush lanes got better, coverage was marrying with good rushes and that's when things started picking up. There's definitely sacks that I left out there I can think of. But, at the end of the day, we made plays we (needed) to win the game. It might have been quiet at first, but we surged on the scene with a couple big plays to finish him off at the end."

The best players always find a way to impact the game at the most critical moments no matter how the game begins. Hutchinson has the juice to be a defensive star in the league, and it isn't a stretch to say that he won Detroit the game with his elite play. It shows the power of a dominant pass rusher for a defense.