IN PHOTOS: Aidan Hutchinson cheers for Lions from home as Jared Goff and co. defeat Vikings 31-29
Aidan Hutchinson will be unable to play the rest of the Detroit Lions' 2024 season after breaking his leg at the Dallas Cowboys last week. But he can still cheer for them from the comforts of his house.
That was exactly what the defensive end did when Jared Goff and company seized the NFC North lead on Sunday with a 31-29 win at the Minnesota Vikings. He shared the following post on the House of Hutch Instagram account:
"Game day looked a little different today🥲💙 but counting our blessings and counting ANOTHER LIONS WIN!!!!!" the caption read.
The Lions had seemingly turned the game in their favor with three scoring drives in the second quarter, only for the Vikings to regain the initiative with their own three-score run in the fourth.
Kicker Jake Bates eventually proved the difference, converting from 44 yards with 15 seconds left. On the final drive of the game, Sam Darnold was sacked by Trevor Nowaske as Aidan Hutchinson and his family watched on.
Aidan Hutchinson provides update a week after leg surgery
An hour later, Aidan Hutchinson took to Instagram again to provide an update on his condition a week after undergoing surgery on his broken leg. He said in the video below:
"The first days were a little rough, but now we are on the road to recovery and just attacking each day. I want to thank all the kids that made me the videos. I want to thank all my teammates, all the fans, all the support over social media. It's been amazing, and I'm doing great. Just pushing through."
Meanwhile, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport believes there is a chance that the Pro Bowl defensive end might return to the field in time for Super Bowl LIX in February, provided the Lions make it that far. He explained Saturday on NFL GameDay Kickoff:
"From what I understand, there's no ligament damage, no nerve damage. It was a clean break, looking at a four- to six-month recovery. Right at the front end of that is the Super Bowl. And accelerating things is the fact that as soon as the injury happened, he was at Baylor Medical Center."
These echo what head coach Dan Campbell said after the win at the Cowboys:
"I would never count Hutch out. Ever. So, probably a long road, but I would never count him out. I would say if anybody can make it back, it'd be him."
Meanwhile, Cleveland Browns defensive end Za'Darius Smith tossed out the idea of being a replacement for Aidan Hutchinson. The three-time Pro Bowler, who formerly played for the Green Bay Packers and Vikings, has expressed interest in the potential move, per the Chronicle-Telegram.