Geno Smith and the Jets made the trip to Detriot in hopes of stealing a win on the road. Sadly, it was not to be. Gang Green battled back against a tough Lions team and came up short 31-24. The Jets had a chance to tie late, but Chuck Clark got a strip sack on Geno Smith.
Despite the loss, there were a few things that had Jets fans buzzing. With so many pass catchers out due to injury, rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq had himself a day. His first NFL game in which he was a focal point of the offense and Sadiq pulled in seven receptions for 105 yards and his first receiving touchdown.
And that wasn’t even the top mark on the day for the Jets offense. Garrett Wilson hauled in 10 for 107 and a score of his own. In all, Geno Smith would finish the day 31 of 37 for 321 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately, the effort was wasted as the run game and defense were no-shows.
On the ground, Breece Hall ran the ball 13 times for 32 yards (2.5 ypc) while Braelon Allen managed just 14 yards on four carries. For Hall, this puts his yards per carry over the past two weeks at 2.1 as he has posted just 61 yards on 29 rushes. If the Jets don’t get that fixed, they’re going to have a hard time staying in games as they become a one-dimensional offense.
Geno Smith carried the offense, but the defense failed to save the day. There was too much talk about the Jets allowing the fewest yards in the NFL through two weeks. However, limiting Cam Ward and Jordan Love isn’t impressive, and the Jets would struggle against the Lions.
Detroit put up 31 points for the third time in as many weeks as Jahmyr Gibbs racked up 164 yards of total offense and three touchdowns (2 rush, 1 rec) as Jared Goff had all the time he needed to pick the Jets apart. The Lions QB would finish 25 of 32 for 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Lions showed once again that they can put up points with or without the departed Ben Johnson.
At the end of the day a loss is a loss and there were a few items of concern for Jets fans to worry about. But for those looking for Gang Green to play a more competitive brand of football as they hope to become playoff contenders in the near future, there was some reason for optimism despite the final score.
