Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson added five more sacks to his stat line, three in the first, and did so all in the first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Hutchinson sacked quarterback Baker Mayfield three times in the first 10 minutes, for a loss of 28 yards, and finished the game with five total, for a loss of 39 yards. He accounted for all of the Lions’ sacks on the day.
The Pro Bowler had 22 career sacks heading into the game, with one last week.
Sack No. 1 of the day came at a crucial time for the Lions defense. The Bucs were in the red zone and faced a third-and-goal, but had no answer for Hutchinson, who found a hole and ran towards Mayfield, who ended up fumbling the ball. The Bucs recovered and were forced to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown.
The second sack of the day came on a second-and-11 situation and sent the Buccaneers back in their own territory. If you’re keeping track, that’s two sacks in the first five minutes of play.
Hutchinson completed the hat trick with a takedown on third down.
The DE didn’t stop there. On another third down, Hutchinson once again beat the o-line and got to the quarterback.
Hutchinson didn’t make it easy on Mayfield. His fifth and final sack of the day came in the fourth quarter on third-and-7.
Despite Hutchinson’s best efforts, the Lions were unable to defeat the Buccaneers, losing 20-16 to fall to 1-1 on the season.
Hutchinson is only the second player in franchise history to record five sacks in a single game. William Gay had 5.5 in a game in 1983.
He is only the fourth player since 1994 to record three sacks in the first quarter of an NFL game. Chandler Jones, Chris Clemons and Simeon Rice are the other three in this exclusive group.
Hutchinson joined the Lions in 2022 as the No. 2 overall pick and has been a difference-maker each year. Entering Sunday, he had 108 career tackles with 10 pass deflections and four interceptions.
