Aidan Hutchinson: 'I Can't Be Mad at Myself'

The Detroit Lions' defensive line did not have the strongest performance against the Minnesota Vikings on the road. 

A review of the film shows the team struggled to contain running back Dalvin Cook in the first half, while the defensive front did not record a single sack against quarterback Kirk Cousins. 

"That’s the issue that we all struggle with, is the consistency part," Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn explained. "Because you look at early in the season, you look at the Philly game. Man, we were really good on third down. Then, we let the quarterback out, so those were really the third-down issues in that game. You look at Washington, the first half. I think the third downs were like one-of-five. They get in the second half, they started completing third downs. Then again, you look at that, and we were -- they had some short third-and-2's and third-and-3's. They were trying to push the ball down the field, and we were playing soft in that situation. So, that’s a little different in that situation."

It was not a complete loss, as the team recorded five hits on Cousins and forced him to make throws before he wanted to on a handful of occasions. 

Many believe that rookie Aidan Hutchinson had a very quiet performance. He did not record a single sack, and failed to record a meaningful statistic in his third career NFL game. 

But, don't tell that to this year's No. 2 overall pick. When asked by reporters about his performance, Hutchinson expressed he felt he played "good" against the Vikings. 

"I thought I played good in that game," Hutchinson said. "Sometimes, the sacks don't come, but I don't think there's any bounce-back. I think we're just, we're (going to) keep on rolling. I thought I played good. But, yeah, we're going to be rolling this game, just like I do every week."

The measures an NFL player uses to decipher their quality of play is likely drastically different than supporters and analysts. 

Hutchinson further explained why he felt his performance left him feeling like it was solid.

"I know that's what the media cares about is sacks and stuff like that," Hutchinson commented. "But, when I turn on the tape, I make sure I'm doing my assignment, and obviously, making the most of my own opportunities. Obviously, you're not going to win every single rush and every single game. Just watching myself on film, as long as I'm doing my job and and playing through my assignment, getting a good get off, staying low, just doing what I do, I can't be mad at myself. Even if you're not getting some sacks in some games, just got to live with it, and you got to know that we have a lot more football left.

"It's sometimes like that sometimes, because sacks are very tedious. So, you could be winning rushes all game, but quarterback gets the ball out. But then, you could get those three sack games where it's like, it kind of just happens. So, you might not be rushing the passer as good as you were for some other games. That's why you got to stay even keeled throughout it all, because it's a very long road."