Despite a fourth quarter comeback effort falling short against the Lions, the Jets demonstrated how explosive their offense can be.
In Detroit, the Jets had 7 explosive passing plays (counted as either a 12-plus yard rush or 16-plus yard reception), good for a 13.1% explosive play rate - the ninth-highest in the league in Week 3. Quarterback Geno Smith threw two explosive TDs: one to rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq for a 24-yard score in the second quarter, and the other 23 yards to WR Garrett Wilson in the final period.
Since 2022, Smith has had 13 games with two or more explosive pass TDs; only Josh Allen has more (14). This season, on pass attempts to travel 20-plus air yards, Smith has completed 7-of-11 for 205 yards and 2 TDs for a 146.8 passer rating which is the third-highest among QBs with at least five attempts of 20-plus air yards. Against Detroit, Smith completed 83.8% (31/37) of his passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns, which marked just the fourth game by any quarterback since 2023 with 300-plus passing yards, 3-plus passing TDs, an 80.0%+ completion percentage, and 0 INTs.
Sadiq and Wilson each had two explosive plays, WR Isaiah Williams and TEs Jeremy Ruckertand Jelani Woods each had one, and RB Breece Hall had a 12-yard rush. Both WR Adonai Mitchell (finger) and TE Mason Taylor (thumb) were inactive while rookie WR Omar Cooper Jr. (ankle) is on injured reserve.
Here's a look at some of the Jets' top explosive plays from Week 3.
Jelani Woods 20-Yard Reaching Grab
TE Jelani Woods was the first of the four different targets Smith connected with for explosive gains. In the second quarter, prior to Sadiq scoring his first career receiving TD, Smith found the 6-7 TE for a 20-yard gain.
On first-and-10 from Detroit's 42-yard line on the Jets' fourth possession of the game, the Green & White lined up in 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs) with Woods to the outside of LT Olu Fashanu.
At the snap, Woods ran downfield and found a pocket of space near the left sideline between CB Roger McCreary and S Chuck Clark. Smith placed the ball between Woods and the boundary line at a height only he could reach, and he made the grab and went out of bounds at the 22-yard line.
It was Woods' first reception of the season and his longest since 2022 when he was with the Colts. At the time, it was the Jets' longest play of game having punted on their first three possessions. Sadiq scored two plays later.
Back-to-Back Deep Fourth Quarter Deep Looks
The Jets were down 14 points in the fourth quarter and on their first possession in the final period they faced a third-and-7 from their own 23-yard line. But in two – explosive – plays, the Jets were in Lions' territory at the Detroit 13-yard line.
To convert the third down, Smith looked to WR Isaiah Williams down the left sideline. The Green & White were in 11 personnel with Williams and Sterling Shepard out to the left and Garrett Wilson on the right.
Nearly three seconds after the snap, Williams gained four yards of separation from McCreary when Smith threw the ball. When Williams made the catch, getting both feet inbounds, he still had two yards of space to work with.
That 21-yard sideline grab, Williams' only reception, pushed the Jets to their own 44-yard line, and they remained aggressive to claw back into the game with a 43-yard pickup on the next play.
The Jets switched from 11 personnel to 12 (1 RB, 2 TEs, 2 WRs) and Sadiq lined up off the ball behind Wilson on the right side. Smith faked a handoff to RB Breece Hall as Sadiq ran a crossing route to the left, getting behind S Christian Izien into open space and he made the reception at the Lions' 35-yard line.
Sadiq gained 21 yards after the catch and reached a max speed of 17.16 mph on the play. The drive resulted in a 4-yard TD to TE Jeremy Ruckert six plays later.
Explosive plays helped the Jets tie the game late in the fourth quarter, which showed HC Aaron Glenn how resilient his team could be.
"That goes to show that our players have belief we can come into any game and we can win any game," Glenn said on Monday.
This week, the Jets face the Chicago Bears. The Bears own the NFL's 13th-ranked passing defense, allowing 207 yards on average, but on Monday Night Football, they limited Jalen Hurts and the Eagles to 157 passing and no TDs through the air.
