The Detroit Lions were dealt arguably their biggest blow that happened to come during one of their biggest wins of the season.
In Sunday’s 47-–9 road victory over the Dallas Cowboys, Lions defensive star Aidan Hutchinson made a routine sack on quarterback Dak Prescott when he appeared to break his leg during the play. The Lions later confirmed he suffered a “tibia injury” to his left leg and would stay in a local hospital in the Dallas area after receiving emergency surgery.
As the heart of the Lions’ defense, Hutchinson was in all of his teammates’ thoughts and prayers after the game.
Jared Goff talked briefly about Hutchinson’s injury in his postgame presser:
“He’s a guy who’s part of the heartbeat of this team, a leader, does everything right, is a great teammate, is everything you want in a player and a teammate, and to have him go down like that visibly upset is tough for all of us,” Goff said. “He will be fine, he’s going to come back eventually, whenever that may be. Knowing him he will be fine, and he will bounce back.”
Jared Goff on Aidan Hutchinson pic.twitter.com/RkRFmT5JtF
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 14, 2024
Lions running back David Montgomery also spoke about Hutchinson’s impact in a postgame interview with Erin Andrews.
“The first thing that I always do is I give grace and I give thanks to God, just asking Him to cover (Hutchinson), that’s a big loss for us,” Montgomery said. “Aidan is definitely the heartbeat of our team and that defense. He a warrior, he a strong dude. We’re going to take it personal. We want to do it for 97.”
“Aidan is definitely the heartbeat of our team and that defense…We’re going to take it personal. We want to do it for 9️⃣7️⃣.”
— NFL on FOX Podcast (@NFLonFOXPod) October 14, 2024
David Montgomery has high praise for his teammate with @ErinAndrews after the @Lions win 🙏 pic.twitter.com/QjgfWzbrdF
Lions coach Dan Campbell declined to give a specific timeline for Hutchinson’s recovery, but he did note that the team would know more in the coming days.
Hutchinson had 7.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hits through five games in 2024.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jared Goff, Lions Teammates Praise Aidan Hutchinson After Horrific Leg Injury.