The Detroit Lions didn't have their best day in Week 2, dropping a very winnable game 20-16 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As sloppy as the Lions were, though, they remained in the game right to the end and had a chance to win. Ironically enough, the Lions have been in this exact position before. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson believes that experience will benefit them now.
After the loss, Hutchinson drew a parallel to last season.
"Just talking to some guys, I think this is going to be really good for us. We had an early loss last year too. I remember we lost to Seattle and everybody thought we sucked again. So I think we're going to keep this one in perspective and if we're going to be struggling a little bit as a team, I'd rather we struggle early than late. The plan is to catch fire as we get through the season and then we go from there."
After a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks last season, the Lions bounced back with a stifling 20-6 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 to start a four-game winning streak.
An important difference? Last year's Week 3 game was at home. This year, the Lions will have to hit the road in Week 3 to take on the Arizona Cardinals. Even so, Hutchinson knows recent history shows there's no reason for fans to abandon ship.
Aidan Hutchinson credits linemates for career day
Though the Lions lost the game, Hutchinson had a career day, racking up 4.5 sacks and one forced fumble. He had a sack hat trick in the first quarter, showing off his dominance just days after proclaiming he felt the defensive line was on the right track.
"I was kind of just staying very focused the whole game and I think our rush lanes were really good and couple of those sacks were our defensive tackles getting great penetration and then I'm just kind of wrapping off. I think it's definitely a lot of my production, but I think a lot of it was our defensive line just playing at a high level and I was reaping a lot of the rewards. I think it was definitely a result of everybody rushing really hard."
Despite a tough loss, it's clear the Lions are staying together. Hutchinson doesn't see the need to panic at this point in time, and has drawn the perfect parallel for why that's the case.
