Two penalties wiped out Jordan Love's would-be pick-six against the Detroit Lions and erased it from the history books. Unfortunately, the same isn't true for the injury it caused to right tackle Zach Tom.
As Brian Branch sprinted to the end zone for what he thought had scored six points for the visitors, Lions pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson took an unnecessary, and illegal, hit on Love. It knocked him to the ground, causing Tom to jump over him to avoid a collision and, in turn, injure his hip. He exited the game and was unable to return.
Only four days stand between the Green Bay Packers' statement win over the Lions and their Thursday Night Football showdown with the Washington Commanders. The injury leaves Tom's status in jeopardy.
Zach Tom is a doubt to play in Packers' TNF game vs. Commanders thanks to Aidan Hutchinson's unnecessary hit
Hutchinson's "block" on Love may have looked reasonable against any other player, but not on a quarterback who is nowhere near the play. Love was never going to catch Branch. He jogged in the direction of the Lions defender, but there was no need for Hutchinson to forcefully knock him to the ground.
The refs called Hutchinson for an unnecessary roughness penalty. Unnecessary, indeed.
As Tony Romo described it on the CBS broadcast: "Hutchinson just laying out Jordan Love. It's basically like protecting the kicker and punter. After a change of possession, you can't hit the quarterback."
Fortunately, Love was OK, but the hit caused Tom to land awkwardly and hurt his hip.
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Head coach Matt LaFleur had no update on the Packers' star right tackle after the game, but the injury was significant enough that it kept Tom out for the remainder of the game. That's far from ideal with the NFC runners-up coming to town on Thursday Night Football.
Let's be honest: it's the only way Hutchinson was getting to Love in this game. He enjoyed very little success against the Packers' offensive line, with his biggest hit on the QB an illegal one.
Green Bay needs Tom. Washington has an outstanding front seven, and pass-rusher Dorance Armstrong is coming off an excellent season opener against the New York Giants — he had a sack and QB hit. The short turnaround between games won't help Tom's chances.
The worst part is it was so avoidable. Hutchinson didn't need to make that hit as Love was nowhere near the play. A holding penalty wiped out the pick-six anyway, but had it not been for that, Hutchinson's illegal hit would've cost his team. It was needless.
It didn't prevent the Packers from crushing the NFC North champs, but it may have cost them their best offensive lineman ahead of another huge game in Week 2.