Dan Campbell Explains When ‘Sacks Aren’t That Big of a Deal’

Outside of Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions struggled all of 2023 to generate sacks on a consistent basis.

Hutchinson, who went as many as four consecutive games without a sack a season ago, managed to record double-digit sacks for the first time in his career (11.5). However, no one else amassed more than five sacks on the season – interior defensive lineman Alim McNeill recorded exactly that amount. 

Additionally, as a unit, Aaron Glenn’s defense accounted for just 41 total sacks – the eighth-fewest sacks in the league.

Yet, that stat right there doesn’t tell the full story about Detroit’s proficiency – or lack thereof – as a pass-rushing unit.

Surprisingly enough, the Lions also recorded the third-most quarterback pressures in the NFL in 2023 (274), plus the fourth-best pressure rate among all 32 teams (41.6 percent). 

So, the true root of the Lions’ pass-rushing woes wasn’t generating pressures. Instead, it was converting those pressures into sacks, which Detroit did at just a 6.5 percent clip (the 11th-lowest mark in the league last season).

Lions head coach Dan Campbell certainly would like his players to turn more of those pressures into sacks in 2024. Yet, at the end of the day, he is most concerned about Hutchinson & Co. continuing to rack up a high percentage of pressures.

“Sacks aren’t that big of a deal as long as you’re getting the pressures,” Campbell told reporters at his press conference Thursday. “As long as you’re getting pressures, and those pressures show up and affect the quarterback negatively, you know? Now would you rather have sacks? Absolutely, I would rather have sacks. The loss of yardage, all of those things, but the pressures … a pressure that affects the quarterback.

“… We watched a couple clips this morning in front of the team. Quarterback is wanting to step up. He can’t step up, the throw is high. He’s flipping to his right, and he can’t get his hips around. Throw a pick. These things that end up in negative plays as incomplete, as turnovers, whatever, I’ll take those all day long.”

Along with Hutchinson’s team-leading 11.5 sacks, he led the organization with 101 quarterback pressures. This also ranked as the second-highest amount in the league (behind just Micah Parsons’ 103 total pressures). Just like in the sack category, McNeill ranked second on the Lions’ roster in total pressures in 2023. The N.C. State product finished his third season in the league with a career-best 34 pressures.

That’s a difference of nearly 70 total pressures between Hutchinson and McNeill. Plus, it’s a prime example of why Detroit general manager Brad Holmes needed to acquire help along the defensive line this offseason.

And, Holmes did just that by inking EDGE Marcus Davenport and defensive tackle DJ Reader to free-agent deals. From the Lions’ standpoint, the hope is that those signings aid the team’s pass-rushing efforts and help Hutchinson become an even more dominant pass-rusher. 

“That will always help,” Campbell said of the impact that another productive EDGE defender can have on Hutchinson. “It helps if you’ve got somebody else that can kind of push them (the quarterback), to you. At times, you can kind of hide in a little window and it could be half a yard the other way, and that’s all it takes for him (Hutchinson) to miss (hitting the quarterback) by an arm length. That helps, it certainly does. 

“But, you can also get that from a three-technique on the other side. That could be ‘Mac’ (Alim McNeill) that’s opposite of him (Hutchinson) on some things. Yeah, somebody on the other side is always going to help.”