Victories for the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field don’t come around all that often, so when they do, fans and players alike have to savor the moment.
Following an extra-special 20-16 win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 18, one of their rookies in Aidan Hutchinson did just that himself. Given Hutchinson plays on defense, achieving a famed “Lambeau Leap” reserved for touchdowns may have been difficult for the youngster.
After the game while giving an interview to NBC, though, Hutchinson obliged calls to do the leap, and created another viral moment for fans. Sam Ali captured the moment where Hutchinson went for the jump on Twitter:
Aidan Hutchinson caps off his Defensive Rookie of the Year season with a Lambeau Leap 💪💪💪
“Aidan Hutchinson caps off his Defensive Rookie of the Year season with a Lambeau Leap,” Ali tweeted on the post.
Before the leap, Hutchinson gave a shout-out to the Detroit fans who made the trip on the road to Lambeau Field. The group showed their support all night, but particularly after the game when they crowded around the ring of the stadium
“Detroit’s got some of the best fans. Look at all of them. The support. I mean, the games been over for about 15 or 30 minutes now and they’re still packing the stands. And that just goes to show the Detroit pride. And how we roll even to away games,” Hutchinson said on the NBC telecast.
In a season full of thrills for the rookie, add this to the list in a very historic venue.
Hutchinson Makes Sack History With Lions
Early in the game, Hutchinson stated his case powerfully for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award with another major performance. Hutchinson’s sack of Aaron Rodgers helped set the mark for the Lions in terms of leading the NFL in production from rookies.
.@Lions DL @aidanhutch97 has upped his season total to 8.5 sacks, the 2nd-most a Lions rookie has ever logged in a season.
Detroit rookies have now combined for 19.5 sacks this year, a new @NFL record for combined sacks from a team’s rookie corps.
“Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson has upped his season total to 8.5 sacks, the 2nd-most a Lions rookie has ever logged in a season. Detroit rookies have now combined for 19.5 sacks this year, a new record for combined sacks from a team’s rookie corps,” the site tweeted.
Later, Hutchinson would collect another sack, running his final total on the season to 9.5 sacks. His third multi-sack game tied him with Ezekiel Ansah for the most by a rookie in Lions history.
.@Lions DL @aidanhutch97 has produced his second sack of the day. He now has 9.5 sacks this season, trailing the franchise rookie sack record by only 0.5 sack.
He has produced three multi-sack games this season, tied with Ezekiel Ansah for Detroit’s rookie record.
“Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson has produced his second sack of the day. He now has 9.5 sacks this season, trailing the franchise rookie sack record by only 0.5 sack. He has produced three multi-sack games this season, tied with Ezekiel Ansah for Detroit’s rookie record,” the account tweeted.
Hutchinson fell just .5 sacks short of that rookie franchise record, but the damage was done for him amid a productive season on the field. Heading into the 2023 offseason, Hutchinson will be amongst the most important players on the team.
With his work, Hutchinson continues to lead by example in a big way given how he has been able to produce and what he has done. He may not have scored a touchdown, but what he was able to do was very deserving of a leap.
Hutchinson Wants Lions to Show Consistency
How can the Lions begin to make such celebrations more commonplace? Hutchinson was asked about that on the NBC telecast and admitted that the goal now is finding a way to be more consistent start to finish.
As Hutchinson said, he believes things could have ended differently for the 2022-23 Lions had they simply done better early on.
“If we didn’t start off so bad, early in the season. We just got to be more consistent, you know? We showed that we can do it and we have all the talent. We just got to be more consistent and do it all season long. Can’t just be in the second half of the season,” Hutchinson said.
A better start will be vital for the Lions next season, but for now, the team and their star rookie are going to savor the way another year finished.
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Aidan Hutchinson Celebrates Productive Win With Lambeau Leap [WATCH]