Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

Sooner or later, Kerry Hyder will move out of the hotel room in which he and his family have been living the last few weeks. Temporary housing just doesn’t seem right for the NFC’s sack leader.

Hyder, who made the Detroit Lions’ 53-man roster on the strength of an impressive preseason, had two sacks in Sunday's season-opening win over the Indianapolis Colts, and a film review of his play proves that there was nothing fluky about the performance.

Along with his sacks -- the only two of the game by the Lions -- Hyder had a third tackle and another quarterback pressure while playing just 22 snaps as the team’s No. 4 defensive end, behind Ziggy Ansah, Devin Taylor and Wallace Gilberry.

“I was just excited to play and I was just trying to make something happen, make an impact when I got into the game, and I was excited I was able to do that,” Hyder said Monday. “Just trying to rush hard and hustle hard, and I was able to get a sack.”

Hyder’s first sack came on a first-and-10 play near midfield on the game’s opening drive, the first play he was on the field.

The second-year pass rusher -- he played the last two snaps of a Week 17 win over the Chicago Bears last season, after starting out on the Lions’ practice squad -- lined up in Taylor’s normal left end spot and beat Colts right tackle Joe Reitz (and some chip help from running back Frank Gore) with a hesitation move inside.

(Yes, Hyder effectively beat a double team on his first play of the season.)

Lined up outside of the right shoulder of tight end Dwayne Allen, Hyder stepped right at the snap as if he was going to bump Allen off his route, then headed straight upfield in pursuit of quarterback Andrew Luck.

Gore met Hyder with a chip block four yards into his rush and might have moved him offline just enough to get past Reitz for the sack.

Reitz, perhaps thinking that Hyder would delay his rush to bump Allen, looked momentarily to his left to see whether right guard Denzelle Good needed help with Lions defensive tackle Khyri Thornton. That glance left Reitz off balance just enough that Hyder slipped past his left arm for an easy takedown of Luck that stalled the Colts’ drive.

“You just try to play through (the chip block) and keep rushing,” Hyder said. “The tackle, sometimes the tackle’s not expecting that help, so you can kind of catch him off guard if you can kind of keep going forward with it.”

Hyder’s second sack came on a first-and-10 play in the second quarter and was a big reason the Colts had to settle for a field goal on the drive.

The Colts were in 12 personnel, with tight ends Allen and Jack Doyle on the left side of the line and two receivers split wide right.

Hyder, playing Ansah’s normal right end spot, had a clear path to Luck after both Colts tight ends took off on pass routes without chipping him at the line of scrimmage.

Gore stayed in the backfield to pass protect after a play-action fake, but Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin had a blitz called at the right time, and Gore’s first read had him focused on linebacker DeAndre Levy coming up the middle.

Levy never made it to Luck -- left guard Jack Mewhort peeled off of his double-team for the block -- but by the time Gore turned his attention to Hyder coming off the edge, it was too late.

Hyder got just enough of Luck’s leg to trip him up as Luck tried to spin outside.

The 11-yard loss put the Colts behind the chains, and they played for a field goal the rest of the drive.

“I just got off the ball,” Hyder explained of his second sack. “It was full protection, and I happened to beat the puller around, so I was able to get to Luck before anyone got to me. He tried to spin out, and I just dove and tried to get him down.”

Luck eventually found his rhythm and single-handedly kept the Colts in the game, but if not for Hyder’s two sacks, Indianapolis might have lit up the scoreboard earlier.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell mentioned Hyder’s heroics during his postgame speech in the locker room. One unidentified Lion, in a video posted on the team’s website, shouted, “Pay the man. Pay the man."

Hyder, who had the most sacks of any NFC player in Week 1 and tied for the second-most in the NFL, behind the New York Jets’ Leonard Williams, said he won’t be demanding a raise anytime soon, though he hopes to have more games like Sunday.

“I’ve always believed in myself,” Hyder said. “We’ve got some great defensive ends, and I’m sure they’re going to get plenty of sacks this year, so I’m just happy I was able to contribute this game.”

Notes: Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is nominated for the FedEx Air NFL player of the week, along with the New Orleans' Saints Drew Brees and Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Jameis Winston. The winner will have $2,000 donated in their name to the USO. Vote at nfl.com/fedex. ... The Lions worked out safety Jimmy Wilson and cornerbacks Demetrius McCray and Blidi Wreh-Wilson on Tuesday, according to ESPN.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett

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