The Good, Bad, and Ugly From Detroit Lions Win Over New York Jets

On Sunday, the Detroit Lions returned to the friendly confines of Ford Field, welcoming back former defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s New York Jets.

The Lions came in as favorites, but had the dangerous duo of Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall waiting to challenge the battered Lions defense. That duo and familiar foe became menaces for Motown, but the Lions emerged victorious from Jared Goff’s game-winning drive and Chuck Clark’s strip-sack to win 31-24.

Here were the good, bad, and ugly from Sunday’s affair.

The Good

Jahmyr Gibbs

Normally, this category would be more broad and categorized as “the run game,” but Gibbs earned this title. “Sonic” was able to live up to his billing, finishing with three touchdowns. The Alabama product showed an ability to pound the ball forward and the patience to make cuts.

Those cuts included doubling back across the entire field, with Gibbs’ first touchdown coming via a vintage Barry Sanders cutback. He crossed 100 rushing yards in the fourth quarter, and then added the game-winning receiving touchdown later in the quarter after New York tied it up.

Passing Game

Jared Goff took everything that the New York Jets’ defense gave him, passing the ball off to eight different pass-catchers and leading a methodical drive to seal it for the Lions. The Lions’ offense was in full gear on Sunday, with Goff and Gibbs each making plays and giving the Lions four straight scoring drives.

Amon-Ra St. Brown was held in check, with less than 20 receiving yards. For Goff, that did not matter, as he found the open duo of Isaac TeSlaa and Jameson Williams, each of whom had over 100 yards on the day. Additionally, Goff was still able to find St. Brown for his fifth touchdown in the first three weeks of the year.

Goff completed just shy of 80 percent of his passes and was only sacked twice, both via blitzes. It was a successful day, as evidenced by 31 points on the scoreboard.

Defensive Pressure

The Lions forced pressure early and often, with Alim McNeill and DJ Wonnum each recording 1.5 sacks during the game, and Aidan Hutchinson and Skyler Gill-Howard each splitting their own sack.

Hutchinson was disruptive in the backfield, with the defender demanding extra chip blocks and forcing pressure any time he was lined up one-on-one. Jack Campbell was sent on multiple blitzes and was disruptive, with his final blitz drawing Braelon Allen to guard him, letting Chuck Clark fly into the backfield and strip the ball from Geno Smith. Campbell was right there to scoop the ball up after Hutchinson could not corral it.

The Bad

Blitz Pickup

While Jahmyr Gibbs had an outstanding day on the ground and in the air, the pass protection game saw Gibbs blown up a few times when picking up Demario Davis on blitzes, and the exotic packages that Aaron Glenn had designed got home on multiple occasions.

This one is not the most egregious error, especially considering that Glenn spent multiple seasons seeing Goff and members of the offensive line every day.

Situational Play

The Lions had letdowns on multiple fronts during clutch situations on Sunday, whether it was coaching, with Dan Campbell gambling on 4th-and-2, or player-based. The corners let multiple big third-and fourth-down plays slip through their grasp, with defensive pass interferences giving Geno Smith extra chances to stay in the game.

Against much more skilled opponents, that leads to games like what the Lions saw in Week 2, with Buffalo marching at will.

Slow Starts

For a second straight week, the Lions were slow out of the gate, punting on their first two drives before settling for a field goal on their third drive. The Jets had just as slow of a start, which saved the Lions on Sunday.

This slower start makes their 31 points per game more impressive, but it is another trend that cannot continue to plague Drew Petzing as the season continues.

The Ugly

The Secondary

It was a brutal day in the secondary for Detroit, as Rock Ya-Sin, Roger McCreary, and DJ Reed all got exposed at multiple points today. Ya-Sin and Reed each got their own holding or defensive pass interference penalties, while also allowing plays down the field.

McCreary was in the nickel at times Sunday, and got the physical mismatch that is Jets rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq. The Oregon product had a breakout day, going over 100 yards and adding his first receiving touchdown in the league.

The Lions were always a step short or flat out beaten, and it let Smith throw for over 300 yards.

The best two players in the secondary were Christian Izien and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Izien was all over the field and was the saving grace of the secondary, crashing in on multiple plays at or behind the line of scrimmage. Rakestraw had solid coverage during the game in his first game action since 2024.

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