Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson Sends Message on Saquon Barkley, Giants Offense

When the Detroit Lions hit the road to take on the New York Giants in Week 11, there’s going to be lots of keys to the game on both sides of the ball.

Defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson seems to know the biggest after watching a week’s worth of film, and as he said, it’s going to revolve around playing tougher in the trenches.

Saquon Barkley comes this week with his powerful leg drive, and slowing him down is going to be a tough task. Hutchinson seems to understand that Barkley, with his 931 yards and six touchdowns, is going to be the player the team must focus on.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, November 17, Hutchinson was asked about the goal this week, and as he said, leveling up on Barkley is the biggest key.

“We gotta stop Saquon, that’s obviously priority number one. You know, we feel if we can stop Saquon, we’re gonna have a pretty good chance to win the game,” Hutchinson explained.

Obviously, Barkley is not the only player who has to be slowed down. The Giants also have a solid quarterback in Daniel Jones who has thrown for 1,596 yards, eight touchdowns and just two interceptions so far this year.

Hutchinson knows that Jones has plenty of skills as a runner to make things miserable for the Lions as well, so stopping both has to be a goal.

“I mean, just another mobile quarterback. We seem to be getting all of them this year,” Hutchinson joked. “Obviously, gotta have a similar mindset to last week in closing that pocket and not having too many open rush lanes and obviously stop Saquon, stop Daniel and then you know that’s the goal.”

Finding a way to key in on this pair might be the biggest key to victory for the Lions this week. Hutchinson seems to understand the pressure on his group most of all to step up.

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Aidan Hutchinson Loves Another Road Atmosphere

One advantage the Lions could have as it relates to trying to meet their goal this week? Another road game. Detroit did well in that environment last week, edging Chicago 31-30.

According to Hutchinson, that kind of environment is something he feeds off in a big way, and is something he loves for a lot of reasons not the least of which is being able to quiet down an enemy stadium.

“I love playing on the road. It’s great, man it’s always fun being in that enemy atmosphere and you know, it’s pretty quiet when you make a play, so it’s always fun and it’s cool. I’m hoping I can continue the streak,” he said.

If Hutchinson makes enough plays, there won’t be any sound at all except for the cheers of Lions fans. Safe to say that would be an ideal outcome for him this week, especially if the Lions are racking up the points.

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Aaron Glenn Also Respects Saquon Barkley

To win three games in a row is not going to be easy for the Lions, especially given the stiff challenge that the Giants provide.

Glenn explained that while Daniel Jones provides some different factors as a quarterback in being able to extend the play, it’s running back Saquon Barkley that has a lot of his attention on defense.

As Glenn said, he marvels at a lot of Barkley’s ability on the field, which will make him a very hard player to prepare for.

“You talk about vision, you talk about being able to break a tackle and take it the distance? That’s the one trait that you see with him that’s unlike any other back,” Glenn said. “The ability to make sure we get the ball down is important with that player.

“Population to the ball is important with that player. This jump cut, this ability to burst. It’s probably the best I’ve seen this year as far as the running back. Even the good ones we’ve been against. I think he’s leading the league in receiving. That tells you the story of who this guy is, so it’s a hard job but I think our guys are up for the job. Each week we have to go against a good player and it is what it is.”

The Lions are no longer shrinking from the challenge of the top players they are playing, and this week, Barkley is going to be a major challenge for the team.

As Hutchinson says, slow him down and the team might have the key to finding their third straight win on defense.

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