DETROIT – It had been a glorious fall here in Detroit – day after day in the 70s, gentle breezes and sunshine. Few clouds. No storms. Construction cranes continued to sway in a revitalized downtown, finishing skyscrapers and new apartments alike. The Tigers came in hot and provided baseball’s unique burst of energy for a few weeks.

And the Lions… the Lions kept winning, 4-1 now.

Here in a city accustomed to political insults and underdog status, a strange phenomenon had washed over the people and the place: life as a favorite. It’s still too new to expect a win – this isn’t Kansas City or New England for that.

But Dan Campbell’s crew is undeniably good – great even. Offence. Defense. Coaching. Stars perform. The role players have stepped up. Plays, even tricks, are made. Somehow Jameson Williams seems to be getting faster by the week. The Lions are capable of not only beating anyone, but also clubbing them.

There’s nothing like the come-up for a fan.

Discussions about the Super Bowl, nothing but the realm of delusion for generations, have been more than reasonable. The team has few obvious weaknesses and unprecedented strengths. Only history has led to hesitation.

Late Sunday afternoon the rain finally came here – meteorologically speaking via a cold drizzle and then a heavy downpour that offered the first sign of eventual winter.

Then, metaphorically, in the middle of delivering a thrilling 47-9 woodshed win over the Dallas Cowboys, Aiden Hutchinson broke his tibia.

Just like that, the satisfaction of the kind of Sunday afternoon that so rarely happens here – their team delivering absolute dominance on national television – was undermined by an injury so visually gruesome that Fox wouldn’t show it and emotionally painful that no Lions fan wild. to even think about it.

“It’s hard,” Campbell said afterward.

The immediate reaction is that Detroit may have won the game but lost the Super Bowl, although only time will tell.

Hutchinson’s impact on the field is undeniable – he leads the NFL in sacks (7.5) – and his presence alone opened up the game for fellow defensive linemen like Alim McNeill (2.5 sacks) and Levi Onwuzurike (1 .5, 12 tackles), not to mention helping a young but impressive secondary (three interceptions against the Cowboys).

However, the statistics are the statistics. There is no one in the league who plays harder than Hutchinson; he seemingly takes every play like it’s the last play of the Super Bowl. He chases ball carriers. He rushes back to the field. He is ruthless and an undisputed tone setter, not only during the match, but also during training.

Detroit may have one of the best general managers in the league in Brad Holmes. The draft pick heater he has been on has turned a despondent, moribund franchise into a roster chock full of talent. He did this while retaining future draft capital and $28.5 million in cap space, per OverTheCap.com, in case of emergency.

Hutch, who is recovering from surgery at a Dallas hospital Sunday Night, would qualify.

So maybe they can trade for a replacement, whether it’s a Maxx Crosby (Las Vegas) or a Myles Garrett (Cleveland) or a more reasonable Trey Hendrickson (Cincinnati) or Travon Walker (Jacksonville) or Jadeveon Clowney (Pittsburgh).

What Holmes and Campbell have built – both in attitude and in aptitude – is more than one player, even a war-father of an edge rusher. The offense is powerful. The defense is brutal. There’s too much here. When Campbell handed the game ball to Jared Goff for his three-touchdown performance on Sunday, Goff quickly handed it back to Campbell, a Dallas native and former Cowboy, for beating his old team.

“Our (expletive) head coach is our (expletive) rock now,” Goff said.

The season, let alone the Super Bowl, is all but lost.

Still, there’s something going on without Aiden Hutchinson that’s sending a malaise over Detroit, even as blue skies resurfaced Monday morning to clear the puddles.

Hutchinson is one of them. He wasn’t brought here; he’s from here. He grew up in Plymouth, the son of a Michigan Wolverine legend. He played with Divine Child in Dearborn and then at U of M itself. In 2021, he was the driving force behind the team that ultimately bullied Ohio State, won the Big Ten and reached the College Football Playoffs.

When the 2022 NFL Draft came around, he didn’t want to go first overall — to Jacksonville, which selected Walker. He wanted Detroit. He wanted the lions. The pulse of the team was already taking shape: Goff had been traded and Holmes had selected offensive lineman Penei Sewell, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and both Onwuzurike and McNeill.

Hutchinson brought star power and credibility. When he sang – and danced – to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” on “Hard Knocks” that summer, he seemed to galvanize the fan base. The possibilities were somehow clear.

He was the symbol of the team, of the city, of the collective hope created by decades of knowing better.

The sacks and tackles and maybe even the leadership can be replaced. Next man up. The end game is still the plan.

However, at the best of times, a player is more than his production, even in the bottom line of the NFL.

So when the weather and opportunities improved for the Lions, the disappointment lingered. No Hutch. The dream is still alive, but it is not quite the same.