Now that one felt good.
The Detroit Lions took down Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets at home in Week 3 by a final score of 31-24. It was an all-around effort from the squad as they desperately needed to rid themselves of the dark cloud hovering over them after their Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Of course, it's hard to argue against Jahmyr Gibbs being the player of this game, but plenty of other things went right for Detroit to help them secure this home dub. They're now 2-0 at Ford Field, with a Sunday Night Football matchup against the Carolina Panthers loading up in Week 4.
8 takeaways from Lions' feel-good win over Jets
1. Jahmyr Gibbs.
I mean, what else can you say about Gibbs?
20 carries for 99 yards on the ground, 65 receiving yards on seven receptions, three total touchdowns, and two excellent scoring celebrations helped to seal the deal for the Lions in this win. With their defense taking a while to get going in this game, Gibbs' consistent scoring and carving up of the oft-elite Jets defense helped to maintain Detroit's momentum.
He continues to climb the rushing touchdown record list for the Lions, and continues to fuel the debate over whether he or Bijan Robinson are the top running backs in the NFL. To be honest, that answer might just depend on who has the ball last.
2. Drew Petzing is finally comfortable
After a slightly slow start (again) in this game, Petzing cracked open the playbook for the Lions and helped to land them a 24-10 lead at one point in the contest. He had Skyler Gill-Howard lining up in motion on a Gibbs touchdown, if that's any indication as to how wild he was getting.
It felt like everyone was getting an even distribution of the pie in this game, and ironically, the one player that didn't get too much attention from Jared Goff was his favorite target: Amon-Ra St. Brown. But, clearly, Petzing and the Lions' offense feel like they're getting on the same page.
3. Isaac TeSlaa and Jameson Williams finally woke up
TeSlaa and Williams combined for 115 receiving yards after both were struggling to get involved in the Lions' offense through two games. Williams looked especially great, with plenty of acrobatic catches and athletic grabs along the sidelines. TeSlaa was also key on a few drives, namely the Lions' last on offense. He helped convert immediately in the 4th quarter after the Jets had tied things up, and that big reception led to a Gibbs touchdown.
The Lions need their other receivers to be reliable and consistent this season while their defense still figures things out, and to avoid overworking Gibbs.
4. Lions' safeties didn't look too bad!
Chuck Clark, who has been starting for the Lions' first three games of the year at safety, had the game-sealing strip sack on Geno Smith in the 4th quarter to kill a potential Jets game-tying or winning drive. Christian Izien, who got his first start at safety with Avonte Maddox being out for the rest of the year, finished up his day with a team-high 11 tackles, with three tackles for loss and one pass deflected.
Izien, especially, really needed to step up in his first start. With no Thomas Harper for at least four weeks, he and Clark are going to get a ton of burn as we wait on Brian Branch's return. The early returns on this new lineup are very solid.
5. Detroit's pass rush still needs some work
It's now been two weeks that the Lions' defensive line has struggled against very good offensive lines. They had five total sacks in this game, but there were a lot of times during New York's comeback attempt where they were a non-factor. That lack of pressure led to a ton of Garrett Wilson heroics, and Smith's ability to get two-points to go to tie things up in the 4th quarter.
It feels more like a scheme thing than anything else, which puts some negative light on Kelvin Sheppard once again.
6. Special teams were once again an underrated part of win
Jake Bates was perfect on his extra point attempts and his lone field goal attempt. Jack Fox placed his punts extremely well throughout the game. Detroit's gunners contained New York on their returns. Jacob Saylors had a career-high 44 yard return.
The Lions' special teams unit, led by Dave Fipp, have been an unsung hero so far this season. Without them, the Lions aren't getting as ideal of field positioning as they did in this contest, nor are they putting as much pressure on offenses on their drives. An all-around sound group.
7. Lions' cornerback room disappointed
Yes, I know - the Lions' defense ended up winning this game (Clark's strip sack). But, their secondary, and namely their cornerback room, had a lot of silly fouls that led to advantageous drives for Smith and the Jets all game. D.J. Reed was especially disappointing on this front with two PI calls, with both leading to touchdowns.
Then you had Rock Ya-Sin coming off the bench to also pick up a silly penalty in his first snap.
The Lions should keep experimenting with their rotation there, with Ennis Rakestraw Jr. actually looking solid in his limited snaps. Of course, that room could look quite different soon.
8. Turns out the Lions' easier schedule could actually be helpful
Ignoring the fact that the Lions defense let the Jets come back from down 24-10 to tie things up in the 4th quarter, it's clear that Detroit can only get better from here. And, as they get better, they're bound to look as dominant as they did against this New York defense, against even weaker defensive units.
Their strength of schedule is a lot weaker than the rest of the NFC North, and that is sure to be beneficial to them as they get healthier on defense and into a greater groove on offense.
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