Aidan Hutchinson encouraged by Lions' pass rush after Week 1 performance

It would be easy to look at surface stats and proclaim the Detroit Lions had an unimpressive pass rush in Week 1. Doing so would avoid acknowledging deeper metrics.

While the Lions only collected two sacks against the Los Angeles Rams, they were able to pressure Matthew Stafford a lot. Levi Onwuzurike enjoyed a coming out party, while Marcus Davenport was impressive in his debut. Stafford getting rid of the ball quickly limited sacks, as head coach Dan Campbell was sure to note.

Aidan Hutchinson collected one sack against a beat up Rams' offensive line. But he won nearly half of his pass-rush reps in Week 1 (47.8 percent pass rush win rate, best in the league for the week).

Hutchinson is working to evolve and get better, which he talked about on Wednesday.

"I think every year I take a big step and I think I've definitely found more ways to be three-dimensional as a pass rusher, as in having a counter, having a power and having an edge (move). I think when you can have all those three things, you can be pretty dangerous as a pass rusher overall."

Aidan Hutchinson believes Lions' pass rush will get even better

This week, the challenge a little bigger for the Lions. Baker Mayfield will challenge Detroit's defensive front with better mobility, and the Buccaneers are well-versed in dealing with the Lions given the squads played twice last season.

Hutchinson expects he and his fellow pass rushers to get the job done, and get even better with the looming debut of DJ Reader.

"I think (pressure) is always very important. That's our main job description, and I think we did that (Week 1). I think we got a lot of personnel. We've got a lot of guys who can create pressure. We just got DJ (Reader) back too, so I think it's only (going to improve). The sky is really the limit for us and I think we're just going to continue to get better as a group and continue to affect the quarterback."

Last year, the Lions collected five total sacks against Tampa Bay. They will need a similar effort to slow down a very solid offense. Hutchinson will lead the charge to the quarterback, as he always does.