Aidan Hutchinson has been on quite a run lately, putting an NFL record in his sights this week.
Aidan Hutchinson is on quite a heater to start the season. After posting 11 quarterback pressures in Week 1 (according to Pro Football Focus), he had three sacks in the first quarter of Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on his way to 4.5 sacks for the game.
Hutchinson is leading the league in sacks (5.5) and pressures (17, per PFF), with a 41.2 percent pass rush win rate (per PFF). "On pace" things are always a little foolish so early in a season, but Hutchinson needs to average a little over a sack per game over the remaining 15 games to break the NFL single season sack record of 22.5, shared by Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021).
Via Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network, Hutchinson is keenly aware of the single season sack record.
"It’s always been one of my goals since I got into the league was to break that record. If I have the opportunity this year, great. …Honestly, I’ll always think it’s realistic. Even next year, if I don’t have as many sacks at this point, I’ll still think (that). My brain is wired that way.”
Aidan Hutchinson could set an NFL record on Sunday vs. Cardinals
Hutchinson's run of sack proficiency actually goes back to the end of last season. He had five sacks over the final two games last year (Week 17 and Week 18), giving him 10.5 sacks over his last four regular season games (#math).
Sacks became an official stat in 1982. Since then, four players have had at least 12 sacks over a five-game span. Three have posted 12 sacks over a five-game span (Richard Dent, Derrick Thomas and Aldon Smith), while Strahan holds the record with 12.5 sacks over a five-game span (Week 3-7) during his aforementioned 2021 campaign.
Sacking the mobile Kyler Murray won't be easy on Sunday, and Hutchinson is of course aware of that challenge. But two sacks of the Cardinals' signal caller would tie the NFL record over a five-game span. Any more would give Hutchinson the record by himself, and he is surely aware of it. By the same token, he won't be hunting the record to the detriment of the Lions' pass rush as a whole against one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league.
