In the New York Jets’ third game of the 2026 season, under the dome in Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan, the Jets fell to the Detroit Lions, 31 – 24.
The game opened with the Jets on offense. They went nowhere and punted. The Lions returned the favor. Then the Jets followed suit. The Lions again returned the favor. So it went through a scintillating scoreless first quarter.
The Jets punted the ball to the Lions to start the second quarter. The Lions proceeded to put together the best drive of the game
thus far. A heavy dose of Jahmyr Gibbs brought the ball deep into Jets territory before the drive bogged down and the Lions had to settle for a short field goal and an early 3 – 0 lead.
The Jets stormed back with a long drive that ended when Geno Smith threaded the needle into an ultra-tight window to Kenyon Sadiq in the end zone for a touchdown The extra point gave the Jets a 7 – 3 lead late in the half.
The Lions roared right back as the dormant offenses on both sides came to life. Detroit put together a long drive culminating in a touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown to give the Lions the lead at 10 – 7 with less than two minutes left in the first half. The Jets then ran one of their patented two minute drills in which they looked utterly lost. The drive ended without incident and the Jets went into the locker room at halftime down by three points at Lions 10, Jets 7.
The Jets opened the third quarter on defense. It did not go well. The Jets defense offered only token resistance as the Lions basically took whatever they wanted on their opening drive of the second half. Jahmyr Gibbs closed it out with a brilliant 17 yard touchdown run, reversing fields and weaving through a helpless Jets defense. The Lions touchdown gave them a double digit lead at 17 – 7 to start the third quarter. The Jets were left in a position they could not afford, needing to play catch up in a shootout in Detroit.
The Jets responded with a drive highlighted by a spectacular 32 yard grab by Garrett Wilson. They got the ball down inside the Lions’ 10 yard line before back-to-back sacks of Geno Smith resulted in a 42 yard Jason Sanders field goal and a seven point Lions lead at 17 – 10 midway through the third quarter.
The Lions then put together a long drive featuring heavy doses of Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs. As the third quarter ended the Lions were inside the Jets one yard line, looking to take a two touchdown lead. On the first play of the fourth quarter Jahmyr Gibbs ran it in. It was the Lions’ fourth consecutive scoring drive as the Jets vaunted defense had no answers for the Lions’ offense. The score was now 24 – 10 in favor of the Lions.
The Jets fought back. They put together a long drive ending with a Geno Smith strike to Jeremy Ruckert in the end zone. A two point attempt was stopped and the Jets trailed the Lions 24 – 16 with a little more than 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter. If the Jets were to have a chance to win, they would need to stop the Lions offense on the next drive for the first time since the first quarter of the game. The Jets defense came up big here. They stopped the Lions on fourth and two and the Jets offense took over near midfield with excellent field position and more than eight minutes left in regulation.
Geno Smith and the Jets went to work. On fourth and six just outside the Lions 20 yard line Aaron Glenn took a chance. He went for the first down instead of the field goal, and he was rewarded. Geno threw a strike to Garrett Wilson at the goal line and the Jets trailed 24 – 22. A two point conversion attempt found paydirt with Sterling Shepard and the game was tied at 24 with just over four minutes left.
It didn’t last. The Lions roared back with a quick drive highlighted by a 49 yard completion to Isaac Teslaa. A few plays later Jared Goff found Jahmyr Gibbs for a touchdown and a 31 – 24 lead with just over two minutes remaining in a barnburner.
The Jets got the ball down inside the Lions’ 30 yard line with just under a minute to play. It looked like they just might tie the game. Then disaster struck. Old friend Chuck Clark blitzed Geno Smith for a strip sack. The Lions recovered the fumble. The Jets were out of timeouts, so the game effectively ended on that play.
Final score: Lions 31, Jets 24. The Jets fought hard and got themselves into position to possibly win the game late, but in the end they fell short in a disappointing loss.
The loss brought the Jets’ record to 1-2. The Jets stay on the road next week as they head to Chicago, Illinois to take on the Bears, looking to avoid a 1-3 start to the season.
