In head coach Aaron Glenn's return to Detroit, the Jets clawed back from a 14-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter but couldn't answer the Lions' late TD with one of their own in the final two minutes and lost 31-24.
"I like the way we fought, I love the men we have but obviously there's a way to go to get to where you're trying to get to," Glenn said postgame.
With 51 seconds left, QB Geno Smith was sacked, fumbled the ball, Detroit recovered and ran out the clock to end the game. WR Garrett Wilson, RB Breece Hall (thigh) and LG Dylan Parham (knee) each left the game with injuries.
Detroit relied heavily on RB Jahmyr Gibbs who had 99 rushing yards, made 7 receptions for 65 yards and scored 3 TDs including the game-winner with 2:30 left in the game. QB Jared Goff was 25-of-32 passing for 269 yards and 2 TDs; one to Gibbs and and the other to WR Amon-Ra St. Brown before halftime.
"That is a tough team to try to contain all those weapons that they have," Glenn said. "In the second half, I felt we allowed them to get some momentum and there were a couple of plays that we just didn't execute."
The Lions led by 24-10 at the start of the fourth quarter before the Jets countered.
"In the first half, I didn't think we moved the ball well but man, in the second half I thought our guys got some momentum," Glenn said. "So that's a good thing to see."
Rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq, who scored his first NFL receiving TD in the second quarter, pushed the Jets into Lions' territory with an open field in front of him after Smith connected with him for a 43-yard gain. Sacks pushed the Jets back to third-and-17 but when Smith targeted Wilson, former Jet CB D.J. Reed was called for defensive pass interference.
See the best photos from the Jets game against the Lions in Week 3.
The drive stayed alive and Smith continued to connect with his TEs — Jeremy Ruckert was on the receiving end of the 4-yard score. The Jets two 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
The defense stopped Detroit from converting on fourth down with edge Kingsley Enagbare stopping Gibbs short of the line of gain to put the offense back on the field with 8:30 to go.
The Jets needed to be just as aggressive, later keeping their offense on the field facing fourth-and-6. Glenn called a timeout and the Green & White set the play. Smith dropped back and with pressure in his face, fired 23 yards down the right sideline to Wilson falling into the end zone who made the catch with his former teammate, Reed in coverage.
The game was momentarily tied at 24 after Sterling Shepard, who was elevated from the practice squad for the game, caught the 2-point conversion.
Neither offense had a fast start with the first five possessions between the two teams resulting in punts. Sacks stifled Detroit when S Andre Cisco stormed through a gap up the middle and sacked Goff for a loss of 10 yards and Demario Davis later bounced off a block by Gibbs to reach Goff for a 9-yard sack.
But sacks were also costly for the Jets, too. Smith was sacked 5 times and in the third quarter, Detroit held them to a 42-yard field goal made by K Jason Sanders after a 32-yard leaping catch by Wilson and a 12-yard rush to the left side by Hall put them in the red zone.
Detroit had scored first on a second-quarter field goal drive where Gibbs touched the ball on 6 of 9 plays.
The Jets relied on their TEs from the start. When countering the Lions' first move, Smith stretched the field with an explosive play down the left sideline, placing the ball within the reach of Jelani Woods, the 6-7 TE.
Sadiq was next. He ran a vertical route up the right side of the field and launched into the air making a diving 24-yard TD catch. Sadiq is the first rookie TE in Jets history to record a rushing and receiving TD in the same season, according to Stats Perform, and he finished the game with 105 yards on 7 receptions.
"I think the one thing that really stood out is we had one of our top players that went down in [Adonai] Mitchell and man, those tight ends really stepped up and [Smith] looked to make sure that we gave the ball to our tight ends," Glenn said. "Obviously G [Garrett Wilson] did his thing and that's a really good sign for our offense."
Smith was 31-for-37 passing for 321 yards and 3 TDs.
"It's tough when you lose a game in this nature when, man, we thought we had it right there," Glenn said. "Our guys believe all the work that was put in in OTAs and training camp ... We're fighting our [butts] off to close that gap."
