Coming out of the bye week, the Detroit Lions would surely like to find some consistency with their pass rush. 18 of their 21 sacks this season have come in three games (Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons, Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers, Week 8 against the Las Vegas Raiders). But they did go into the bye week off a great performance against the Raiders (six sacks; 71.4 percent pressure rate, per Next Gen Stats).
Aidan Hutchinson is having a nice season, with 4.5 sacks and he's tied for the third-most pressures in the league according to Pro Football Focus (46). But all of his sacks came in a three-game stretch, and his last sack game in Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers.
Sacks are of course the stat everyone looks for and notes to measure how effective a pass rusher is. We of course have other metrics to show that, but sacks are tangible, impactful and still a be-all, end-all for many. But they can also be random, and near-misses are common. Hutchinson also gets plenty of attention from opposing blocking schemes, and the Lions have lacked other viable pass rush threats.
Aidan Hutchinson is not sweating his recent sack drought
On Tuesday, per Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, Lions' defensive line coach John Scott pointed to how Hutchinson has impacted the game without sacks and how a correction should come.
"I think with Hutch, the way he works and prepares, it's gonna continue to come," Scott said. "I know what you guys are saying, it's been three games, but when you go back and look at the tape, how many times had he affected the quarterback? Or how many times has he drawn a holding call or taken two guys, allowing somebody else to go get a sack? I get things are measured in numbers, but when you really look at the tape as a coach, through a coach's eyes, you see what the impact that he's having ...It's just a matter of time before it's, boom, here it goes again."
Naturally, Hutchinson is not worried about his recent sack drought.
"It's just sacks come in bunches, and all my sacks always come in bunches. So, I'm not worried. I'm confident in what I can do, and I know when you keep rushing, they come."It's hard because as a player you understand how much the media and how much others love stats and stuff like that," "But, my goal every game is just to rush as good as I can, win my one-on-ones and everything like that."
Chasing sacks can often mean leaving other parts of being an edge defender by the wayside. Hutchinson won't be doing that stat chasing, but the sacks will surely come.