Observations: Aidan Hutchinson Dominates Lions Scrimmage

Defense dominates early

With the focus being on players who will not be participating in Thursday's game, there were plenty of opportunities for the first-team groups on both sides of the ball to match up against each other. The defense held the advantage early.

On the first series, the pass-rush got the best of the Lions' offense. Jack Campbell and Aidan Hutchinson each got sacks, forcing the drive to end. Campbell blew up a Jahmyr Gibbs block attempt, while Hutchinson beat Dan Skipper.

The second drive saw the Lions gain some momentum offensively, with David Montgomery stringing together a pair of nice runs and Amon-Ra St. Brown hauling in a pass from Goff. Rookie Tate Ratledge had an excellent block on one of Montgomery's runs, sealing off fellow rookie Tyleik Williams.

However, the offense was stifled. Alex Anzalone snuffed out a run by David Montgomery, then a false start further complicated matters. An incompletion set up fourth-down and a Jake Bates field goal attempt, which he missed wide left from 54 yards out.

Second-team gets look

After the first-team offense got the first two series, Hendon Hooker and the second-team offense took the field for a series. Hooker hit Shane Zylstra for a completion on first-down, then a Craig Reynolds run was blown up.

The drive stalled out quickly, as Hooker had another completion over the middle to Isaac TeSlaa but was sacked by Pat O'Connor and Keith Cooper. Bates missed a second field goal, this time from around 51 yards, ending the drive without points once again for the offense.

Branch's big impact

The Lions have one of the game's best safety tandems in Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. Though Joseph has been out of action in recent practices, Branch had a big impact in the scrimmage with the first-team defense.

After the second-team came up empty, the starters took the field for another series. He had a big pass breakup on a throw in the direction of Tim Patrick to start the drive. After a run by Jahmyr Gibbs, Goff missed an open LaPorta. On that play, Arnold came up limping. He exited the scrimmage and was replaced by Rock Ya-Sin.

The offense's drive would come to an end when Hutchinson notched his second sack by getting around Dan Skipper to end the drive.

Snapping the scoreless drought

The Lions would again go without points on a drive led by Kyle Allen. He hit Jakobie Keeney-James for a first-down, but the series ended when Jackson Meeks couldn't haul in a pass near the sideline and Anthony Pittman sacked Allen.

Detroit sent the first-team back onto the field, and this time John Morton's group was able to get into a rythym. Runs from David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs sparked the drive, and Goff hit St. Brown for a big gain. Montgomery ended the drive with a 10-yard touchdown catch.

On the next first-team drive, Aidan Hutchinson notched another sack on Goff by bringing the veteran to the ground lightly. This ended the series, with Jake Bates sinking a field goal from what appeared to be 60 yards out.

Finishing strong

Hendon Hooker got another drive, which stalled out. He connected once again with TeSlaa, as the two have formed a significant connection over the early stages of camp. A drop by Kenny Yeboah hurt the group's momentum.

Of note, Kingsley Eguakun was the second-team center. Giovanni Manu and Mason Miller were the tackles, with Manu holding down the left side.

After the second-team offense was limited, the starters took the field for the final series. Goff was able to move the offense down the field, with Montgomery also showing off some elusiveness in the open field.

Veteran linebacker Zach Cunningham made a nice play on a Montgomery run, but the offense responded with completions from Goff to Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

After entering the red zone, the Lions gave the ball to Gibbs who had a tough run. Goff then hit Tim Patrick for a score to end the day.

Scrimmage standouts

Aidan Hutchinson was the best player on the field Tuesday. He had three sacks working primarily against Dan Skipper, who is with the first-team offense in place of Taylor Decker, and was simply wreaking havoc.

The tandem of Gibbs and Montgomery were efficient in the later stages of the practice, as both had significant runs. Gibbs had a 20-yard run as part of the first touchdown drive, and it was Montgomery who finished the job.

Defensively, the Lions' linebackers also caused plenty of problems for Detroit's offense. In total, the team had eight sacks. Hutchinson had three to lead the group. Jack Campbell, Anthony Pittman, Nate Lynn and Trevor Nowaske each had one, while O'Connor and Cooper split one as well.

Quick hitters

1.) The Lions did some shuffling with their offensive line during the scrimmage, as Kayode Awosika and Jamarco Jones finished the scrimmage with the first-team offense on the final drive.

2.) Running back Jahmyr Gibbs had a great view of the WWE Monday Night Raw at Little Caesars Arena. He told Lions OnSI he captured footage of a massive double spear by Bron Breakker on Roman Reigns and Jey Uso.

3.) The Lions will have a travel day Wednesday and will begin the preseason on Thursday.

4.) Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon and Kirk Gibson were spotted at the Lions Performance Center taking in the camp practice.