Kevin Patra’s takeaways:
Gibbs, Lions offense powers win over Jets. Jahmyr Gibbs did his best Barry Sanders impression, carrying Detroit to a win with jukes galore. The stud running back scored three second-half touchdowns, starting with a 17-yard against-the-grain jaunt in which No. 0 pulled off a No. 20 imitation. Gibbs was a mismatch against the Jets’ older linebackers in the passing attack, repeatedly finding space in the open field. He finished with 99 rushing yards and two scores on 20 carries, plus seven catches for 65 yards and the game-winning TD. Gibbs’ ability to gash defenses on the outside while also muscling for short-yardage games shows complete-back ability. His talent as a pass catcher makes him unstoppable. Powered by Gibbs, the Lions offense moved up and down the field for the final three quarters, scoring on five of six drives. They avoided a three-and-out all day while putting up 30-plus points for the third time in three weeks to open the season.
Jets battle but come up short. Geno Smith and the offense needed time to kick things into gear. After going three-and-out in two of the first three drives, Smith diced up the Lions secondary. Displaying good pocket acumen and a willingness to sit in and take a hit, Smith threw for 321 yards on 31 of 37 with three TDs. The Jets took advantage of their tight end matchups. Rookie Kenyon Sadiq had the best game of his young career, proving to be a good outlet with good hands and the ability to dust LBs. He finished with 105 yards and his first career receiving TD on seven catches. Sacks stymied the Jets offense early, but the offensive line cleaned things up in the second half, allowing the Jets to tie the game late after falling behind 14 -0. Then the Lions threw a big blitz, and Chuck Clark got away clean and sacked Smith, who fumbled with a chance to score late. Once again, the Jets showed they can compete. The next step is turning close losses into actual wins.
Lions D makes a late play after struggling to slow the Jets. Kelvin Sheppard dialed up a blitz that confused the Jets’ blocking and allowed Clark to come up with the game-sealing strip. It’s a good thing Chuck Clark made the play, because Detroit’s defense once again showed an inability to get a stop in the second half. With defensive backs getting burned so often, the pass rush rarely gets a chance to get to the quarterback. When the defensive line is blocked up, it’s almost assuredly a big play for the opponent. Former Jet D.J. Reed continues to struggle, getting picked on and racking up defensive interference calls. Reed versus Garrett Wilson was a clear mismatch. When a team’s most veteran CB is a liability, it’s going to be a problem. At this stage, the defense’s hope is to get just enough stops while the offense keeps racking up points. It’s a defense that requires a near-perfect offense to rack up Ws.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Lions-Jets (via NFL Pro): The Jets blitzed Jared Goff on 44.4% of his dropbacks, with Goff completing all 14 of his attempts for 148 yards and a touchdown when facing extra rushers (+27.8% CPOE). Goff also fared well on play-action, completing 11 of 13 attempts for 181 yards.
NFL Research: With his two rushing touchdowns in Week 3, Jahmyr Gibbs (43) passed Billy Sims (42) for the second-most rushing touchdowns in Lions franchise history, trailing only Hall of Famer Barry Sanders (99). Gibbs also recorded his fifth career game with three touchdowns, tying HOF Jim Brown and Todd Gurley for the most three-plus TD games by a player before turning 25 in NFL history. His seven career games with 150-plus scrimmage yards and multiple scrimmage touchdowns trail only Hall of Famers Jim Brown (11), Barry Sanders (nine) and Walter Payton (eight) for most by a player under the age of 25 in NFL history.