Lions' Aidan Hutchinson leads NFL in sacks, named NFC Defensive Player of the Month

Aidan Hutchinson's big month netted him a big award.

Hutchinson, the leader of a Detroit Lions defense that ranks top-10 in scoring and rushing defense, was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month on Thursday.

Hutchinson leads the NFL with 6½ sacks and 25 pressures, according to the NFL's Next Gen stats .

Former Lions linebacker Kyle Van Noy, now with the Baltimore Ravens, is the only other with more than five sacks this season. Van Noy (six sacks) was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month.

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Hutchinson, the second pick of the 2022 NFL draft, had 4½ sacks in the Lions' Week 2 loss loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but saw his streak of three straight games with a sack come to an end in Monday's 42-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks .

In that game, Hutchinson had a career-high 10 pressures on 54 pass-rush snaps, the most by any player in a game this season.

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The Lions (3-1) have a bye week this week and face NFC contenders the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings on the road when they return.

Hutchinson is the fourth Lions player to earn Defensive Player of the Month, joining Stephen Boyd (November, 1998), Ray Crockett (November, 1991) and DeAndre Levy (September, 2014).

Dave Birkett will sign copies of his new book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline" from 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at Pro Sports Zone in Laurel Park Place. Order your copy here.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions' Aidan Hutchinson leads NFL in sacks, named NFC Defensive Player of the Month