Apparently, beating the New Orleans Saints was not enough for Jahmyr Gibbs and Aidan Hutchinson to get some Week 1 hardware.

The NFL announced its first NFC Players of the Week on Wednesday, naming former Lions running back D’Andre Swift the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun the Defensive Player of the Week.

Both had excellent games.

Detroit still has a legitimate reason to feel shortchanged.

Gibbs produced 186 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns while carrying Detroit’s offense through a 31-30 overtime victory. Hutchinson spent much of the afternoon wrecking New Orleans’ passing game, piling up two sacks and 10 quarterback pressures.

Yet neither won.

The NFL’s official Week 1 awards announcement instead went to Swift and Baun.

Let the arguments begin.

Jahmyr Gibbs Had an Offensive Player of the Week Case

Swift certainly earned consideration.

Chicago’s former Lions running back rushed 18 times for 124 yards and three touchdowns during the Bears’ 59-37 victory over Carolina. He averaged 6.9 yards per carry and added one reception for 10 yards, giving him 134 yards from scrimmage.

That is a huge afternoon.

Gibbs did even more.

Detroit gave its star running back a career-high 29 carries, and he responded with:

• 29 carries
• 156 rushing yards
• 5.4 yards per carry
• 2 rushing touchdowns
• 5 receptions on 5 targets
• 30 receiving yards
• 34 total touches
• 186 yards from scrimmage
• 12 missed tackles forced

Gibbs accounted for 186 of Detroit’s 369 total offensive yards, more than half of everything the Lions produced. He also handled the football repeatedly on Detroit’s overtime touchdown drive when the game was hanging in the balance. Detroit’s official postgame breakdown detailed just how much the offense ran through him.

Swift Got the Touchdowns, Gibbs Got the Workload

The likely separator was obvious.

Swift scored three touchdowns. Gibbs scored two.

Swift also averaged substantially more per carry, although Gibbs handled 11 more rushing attempts while adding four more receptions.

But there is a strong argument that Gibbs’ complete workload was more impressive.

He finished with 52 more scrimmage yards than Swift, touched the football 34 times compared with Swift’s 19 and delivered his production in a one-point overtime game in which Detroit desperately needed every yard.

The Lions leaned on Gibbs from the opening quarter through overtime.

There was no stat-padding in a 22-point shootout margin. Detroit needed him to survive.

Our full Lions-Saints recap showed how critical Gibbs became as Detroit watched a 21-0 advantage disappear.

Swift had a spectacular game.

Gibbs had the kind of game that carried an offense.

Giving him NFC Offensive Player of the Week would have been completely justified.

Aidan Hutchinson’s Snub May Be Even Harder to Explain

Then we get to Hutchinson.

Baun won NFC Defensive Player of the Week after recording 12 tackles, two passes defended and one tackle for loss in Philadelphia’s 24-22 win over Washington. The Eagles also noted that Baun allowed three catches for minus-2 yards on six targets, an excellent coverage performance for a linebacker.

No argument that Baun played well.

But look at Hutchinson’s Week 1 production:

• 5 tackles
• 2 sacks
• 2 tackles for loss
• 4 quarterback hits
• 10 quarterback pressures

Those 10 pressures were particularly significant.

According to the NFL’s Week 1 analysis, Hutchinson constantly disrupted Tyler Shough even when he did not finish the play with a sack. He generated two sacks, four quarterback hits and 10 total pressures while Detroit’s defensive front produced five sacks overall.

That is not simply a nice statistical afternoon.

That is controlling a passing game from the edge.

Hutchinson Was Detroit’s Most Consistent Disruptor

Hutchinson also earned a 90.2 PFF grade, the best defensive grade on Detroit’s roster in Week 1.

As we detailed in our Lions Week 1 PFF grades, nobody on the Lions defense graded higher.

His pressure mattered because Detroit’s secondary eventually began leaking explosive plays. Shough finished with 410 passing yards and three touchdowns, but Hutchinson repeatedly sped up his clock and helped prevent New Orleans from operating comfortably.

Baun made tackles.

Hutchinson changed possessions.

Two sacks, four quarterback hits and 10 pressures from one edge defender can alter an entire protection plan.

That is a Defensive Player of the Week résumé.

Lions Go 0-for-2 Despite Two Dominant Performances

The NFL was not choosing between bad candidates.

Swift produced three touchdowns in an offensive explosion. Baun was excellent both as a tackler and in coverage.

But Detroit had two players with legitimate, and arguably stronger, cases.

Gibbs carried the ball 29 times, caught everything thrown his way and generated 186 scrimmage yards in an overtime victory.

Hutchinson produced two sacks and an absurd 10 pressures while grading as Detroit’s best defender.

Neither received the award.

So congratulations to Swift and Baun.

Seriously.

But if Lions fans look at those numbers and feel like Detroit went 0-for-2 in a vote it could have gone 2-for-2 in, they have plenty of evidence on their side.