Aidan Hutchinson, the NFL's top pass rusher this season, has been lost for what appears to be the rest of the season after suffering a broken tibia during the third quarter of Detroit's blowout win over the Cowboys. That means he will not be on the field for the NFC North showdown between the Vikings and Lions in Minneapolis next Sunday.
Hutchinson entered Sunday's games with an NFL-leading 40 quarterback pressures and seven sacks. He added three QB hits against Dallas and it was when he sacked Dak Prescott for his eighth of the season when his left leg collided with teammate Alim McNeill's knee and snapped.
Hutchinson was carted off the field and taken to a local hospital where he underwent surgery.
"He's in good hands right now. He's being taken care of, he'll stay back (in Dallas) and obviously, he's gonna be down for a little while," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said after the 47-9 win. "So, that's tough. It's hard when you lose somebody like him. But, we'll know a lot more after this, and obviously wish him the best."
Without Hutchinson, the Lions are still a ferocious team. After a slowish start to the season in which they needed overtime to beat the Rams, lost at home to the Bucs and then survived a close game against Arizona, the Lions have obliterated the Seahawks and Cowboys in consecutive weeks by a combined score of 89-38.
They'll arrive in Minnesota with a 4-1 record and an opportunity to take over the top spot in the division against the 5-0 Vikings, who will be well rested after a bye.
The big questions for Minnesota are the health of running back Aaron Jones (hip) and the status of tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee). Jones is considered week-to-week while Hockenson will either make his season debut against Detroit or the following Thursday night when the Vikings head to Los Angeles for a date with the Rams.
