Before 10 minutes were gone in the first quarter of last Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson had three sacks. He ended up with 4.5 sacks in the game, with a fifth sack that was originally credited only to him officially split with Levi Onwuzurike.
It seemed like a lock that Hutchinson would win NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 2. Wednesday's official announcement would be a mere formality.
Not so much.
Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 2. He had 12 tackles and the game-sealing interception in Atlanta's Monday night win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Not to discount Bates' performance, but somehow that's more worthy of Defensive Player of the Week than a 4.5-sack game.
As if 4.5 sacks in a game is a common feat. Maybe Hutchinson would have gotten NFC Defensive Player of the Week if he'd had an even five sacks.
Aidan Hutchinson gets robbed of award he should have won easily
Hutchinson's 4.5 sacks were the second-most in a single game in Lions' franchise history. Last year, one player (Khalil Mack) had 4.5 sacks in a game. No one did it during the 2022 season. Since 2009, 11 players have had a 4.5-sack game.
Hutchinson leads the league in sacks (5.5) and pressures (17, according to Pro Football Focus). He has the highest PFF pass rush grade through two weeks (95.0), and he's third in ESPN pass rush win rate (33 percent). Via FanDuel Sportsbook, he currently has the second-best odds to win Defensive Player of the Year (+470, odds subject to change).
Ultimately, these kind of weekly awards are mostly for show and not meaningful to anything other than novelty of being able to say you won them. It's unlikely any kind of contract incentives are tied to them. The Lions losing in Week 2 may have cost Hutchinson in this case.
That being said, Hutchinson's outstanding performance in Week 2 should have been validated by him winning NFC Defensive Player of the Week. No defensive player in the league was better than him last week, and Bates certainly wasn't in the same stratosphere.