Hutchinson with Peter King: Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson leads all rookies with 7.0 sacks on the year. He spoke with Peter King for his Football in America column on Monday.
"I got the chance to come somewhere and be part of coming alive and building a great team," Hutchinson told King. "I just wanted to come into the season and learn something every single game and make strides every game. I'm happy with my development so far.
"We're so complementary right now offensively and defensively and we never flinch at the end. It's no longer the same old Lions. We've overcome that. Now we're on our way to becoming a really good football team." – Tim Twentyman
One and out: That's a shortened version of a three and out, and it's much better. The Lions had two of them Sunday – one- and two-play possessions that were 41-yard and 48-yard TD passes from quarterback Jared Goff to wide receivers Jameson Williams and DJ Chark. – Mike O'Hara
One of the NFC's best: Is there a quarterback in the NFC outside of Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts who is playing better football than Goff right now? Goff completed 69 percent of his passes for 330 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers for a 120.7 passer rating in the win over the Vikings Sunday. Over Detroit's current 5-1 stretch, Goff has completed 131-of-172 passes (76 percent) for 1,448 yards with 10 touchdowns and 1 interception, which is good for a 117.6 rating. Goff is ballin right now. – Tim Twentyman
Message from Dan Orlovsky: "Win this weekend, man." It means the Lions need to beat the Jets on Sunday to keep their playoff hopes alive. Dan O and others were very complimentary of the Lions on the ESPN morning "Get Up" show. – Mike O'Hara
Glue guys: Defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs had a sack, a forced fumble and three QB hits against the Vikings Sunday. Defensive lineman John Cominsky continues to do all the dirty work to free up teammates, and he had a few good pressures and a couple QB hits Sunday. Wide receiver Kalif Raymond had a key third-down catch in the second half and set up the Chark TD with a 35-yard punt return.
I like to refer to these players as glue guys. Not the stars, and every good team needs stars, but the guys who continually make plays and are so vitally important to every roster in the NFL. – Tim Twentyman
O-line play: No sacks allowed, just three QB hits, another consistent rushing performance (4.5 average). This Lions offensive line continues to live up to the hype. Right now it's probably a race to the finish to name the Eagles or Lions as the best offensive line in football right now. Credit to those big guys up front and the job offensive line coach Hank Fraley has done all year mixing and matching guys in the starting lineup and not missing a beat. – Tim Twentyman
Snap count: After playing eight reps in his debut against Jacksonville last week, Williams got 13 reps this week as the Lions continue to bring him along slowly. Defensive lineman Romeo Okwara, playing in his first game in over a year, saw 25 snaps against the Vikings. Expect Williams and Okwara to continue to see their reps increase over the last month of the season. – Tim Twentyman
TFLs: The Lions held Minnesota to just 22 rushing yards. Detroit's defense consistently played on Minnesota's side of the line of scrimmage all day in the run game. Detroit racked up seven tackles for loss in that contest, as follows: Hutchinson (2), cornerback Mike Hughes (2), cornerback Jerry Jacobs (1), linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez (1), linebacker James Houston (1). – Tim Twentyman
