‘I got smacked though!’: Aidan Hutchinson has hilarious reaction to replay of his interception

DETROIT – The Detroit Lions had plenty of highlights during their dominant win over the Panthers on Sunday, but none were better than Aidan Hutchinson’s one-handed interception.

With the Lions up 7-0 midway through the first quarter, Hutchinson recognized that the Panthers were trying to throw a screen to tight end Ian Thomas.

Thomas bumped Hutchinson as if he was going to block, but then released and turned around to get the ball from quarterback Bryce Young.

Right as Young threw the ball, Hutchinson slid into the passing lane, reached out with his right hand, and snared it out of midair.

That interception set the Lions up for another touchdown, and they never relinquished control of the game.

While Hutchinson was heading to the locker room following the 42-24 win, the Lions’ social media team showed him a replay of the interception and asked for his reaction.

Hutchinson started to break down the play, but then got distracted by how hard wide receiver Jonathan Mingo hit him during the return.

“Alright, so this is a little Y-delay screen,” Hutchinson said. “Kind of felt it from the start, made a good play. I don’t know -- oh, I got smacked though! I got smacked.

“But look, man, I’ve got hands. I’ve got hands for a D-lineman, alright?”

Hutchinson has certainly proved that. He’s the first defensive lineman in NFL history to pick off four passes in his first two seasons -- and he still has 12 more games to add to that total.

But the ball carrying might need a little work. One of the best pass rushers in the league can’t be getting “smacked” by a 220-pound receiver, after all.