The Detroit Lions blew the doors off the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6 in a 47-9 win, but in the process the team suffered a huge loss with the injury to star edge rusher, Aidan Hutchinson.
The former No. 2 overall pick suffered a broken tibia in the third quarter, the team confirmed. That is obviously a massive blow to a Lions team that was already without its second-best pass-rusher for the rest of 2024, Marcus Davenport.
But there is hope that Hutchinson hasn't played his last snap this season, although him playing again would require a trip to the Super Bowl, which is now much more difficult to pull off because of his injury.
According to Michael Stone of 97.1 The Ticket and Nolan Bianchi and Richard Silva of The Detroit News, a member of Hutchinson's camp said his injury wasn't the worst-case scenario and the Lions star is aiming to be back by the Super Bowl, if the Lions make it that far.
For now, general manager Brad Holmes has to work the phones ahead of the trade deadline on Nov. 5 to add edge rush help, something he already had to do before Hutchinson went down.
Here's a look at where the Lions rank in the NFL power rankings of experts after dismantling the Cowboys on Sunday.
NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Detroit Lions
Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: 3 (+1)
Iyer: "The Lions demolished the Cowboys in Dallas with a heavy dose of the running game and more big explosive pass plays from Jared Goff playing off it. They might need even more from the offense with Aidan Hutchinson (leg) unfortunately down for the long-term. In the short term, NFC North supremacy is on the line when they travel to Minnesota in Week 7."
Taylor Wirth, NBC Sports: 2 (+1)
Wirth: "They are who we thought they were: Really freaking good and worthy of all the preseason hype. Jared Goff has taken his game to a whole different level, but the Aidan Hutchinson injury is a devastating blow."
Jeremy Cluff, Arizona Republic: 3 (no change)
Cluff: "Jared Goff was 18-for-25 for 315 yards with three touchdown passes Sunday, continuing his stellar play for Detroit, which has a huge game against Minnesota in NFL Week 7."
Peter Dewey, Sports Illustrated: 4 (no change)
Dewey: "Dan Campbell's Lions dismantled the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6, and they've now won three games in a row to move to 4-1 on the season."
Matt Johnson, Sportsnaut: 4 (-1)
Johnson: "The Detroit Lions, much like the Baltimore Ravens, are built to destroy teams like the Dallas Cowboys. Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened on Sunday. Jumping out to a 27-6 halftime lead, Detroit decimated Dallas on the ground and that set up Jared Goff to dice up the Cowboys’ secondary. Unfortunately, this big win is now overshadowed by the Aidan Hutchinson injury which looks season-ending and is just as devastating on the field as it is for the locker room."
Lou Scataglia, NFL Spin Zone: 4
Scataglia: "I mean, my goodness. The Detroit Lions took the Dallas Cowboys to the cleaners on Sunday. It wasn’t close and was never going to be close. The Lions coming off of their bye week clearly helped here. They just dominated in every single aspect of this game. They’re now 4-1 on the season but may have lost stud defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. He left the game on a cart with what appears to be a brutal lower leg injury. If the injury ends up being the worst-case scenario, the Lions are going to be in rough shape on defense down the stretch, but them being 4-1 is definitely going to at least buy them a game or two if things go south on defense without Hutchinson. At this point, we need to be putting the Detroit Lions in the Super Bowl bubble. For a while now, I have maintained that the Lions are representing the NFC in the Super Bowl, and they certainly showed why they’re a contender in Week 6."
