The Detroit Lions imposed their will on the Chicago Bears and showed out for an impressive victory against Chicago. The Lions entered week 17 in a must win scenario in order to keep their playoff chances alive, after they had an uncharacteristic loss last week against the Panthers. The Lions absolutely dominated the Bears, beating them by 31 points by a score of 41-10. This domination helped keep the Lions in playoff aspirations who now need to win against the Packers next week and have the Seahawks lose against the Rams.
This domination was led by the rookies who once again looked absolute dominant against the Chicago Bears. This draft could be the best draft class of all time for any franchise, not only for the Detroit Lions. Here are a few rookies that had outstanding performances in the win against Chicago.
James Houston
This guy is playing on another level. For someone being the best pure pass rusher in a draft class and that guy being drafted in the sixth round is completely insane. This guy may single handedly make scouts look at more HBCU players to find the next him.
To add onto the breakout second half season he is having, James Houston absolutely exploded against the Bears. James Houston had 3 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 3 QB hits, and one force fumble. His force fumble was an insane play. Justin Fields hiked the ball, and James Houston was met with a double team, but he pushed both guys on the double team back ten yards. Then once he realized Fields was escaping, Houston sprinted back and swung his arm all the way up to come down on Fields, freeing the ball, and allowing Aidan Hutchinson to grab it.
Aidan Hutchinson
Even though Aidan Hutchinson is being outshined when it comes to pass rushing from a six round draft pick, he is making contributions in other ways. Hutchinson got his 3rd interception of the season against Justin Fields. This monumental play was at the tail end of the first half. He was lined up right next to the sideline and as Justin Fields threw it, Hutchinson flew in to grab it out of the air for the easy interception.
Aidan Hutchinson now has more interceptions than Sauce Gardner. This one discrepancy between the both of them tell the voters why Hutchinson should win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
On top of the interception, the star pass rusher filled out the stats sheet himself. His stats included 4 tackles, ½ a sack, 1 pass deflections, 1 interception, and 1 fumble recovery. This is one very productive performance for a rookie defensive end.
Josh Paschal
The second round draft pick finally showed out for the first time this season. Being snared with injuries, Josh Paschal had a slow start to his rookie campaign. However he exploded for a huge performance against the Chicago Bears. His stats included 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 QB hits.
With Josh Paschal finally producing in the NFL, the fans can finally stop critiquing Brad Holmes. The critique was that Brad Holmes would draft talented but injury prone guys in the second round, which would often make these players unavailable for a long period of time. However with Josh Paschal now playing and looking very dominant, the fans cannot complain about how Brad Holmes drafts in the second round, because he has succeeded.
Other draftees
The other draftees in the draft class played good football including Malcom Rodriquez, James Mitchell, Kerby Joseph, and Jameson Williams. However, they did not play dominant football like the other three guys did.
