Much like their Week 1 win against the New Orleans Saints, the Lions started the second half strong before allowing the fourth quarter to become far too close for comfort. Similarly, the defense was largely responsible for allowing explosive passing plays that fueled the Jets’ comeback efforts, but it delivered a clutch play when it mattered most to seal the victory.
Sunday’s win against Aaron Glenn’s Jets wasn’t pretty, but there were signs of improvement. The offense started slowly but continued
to acclimate under Drew Petzing, while the defense stopped the run effectively, got home against Geno Smith in several high-leverage moments, and played well in the first half, allowing just one touchdown drive across the Jets’ first five possessions.
Of course, Geno Smith catching fire and torching the pass coverage with improbable completions into tight coverage felt almost inevitable, and there’s still plenty to clean up defensively. Nevertheless, this was another stepping stone toward becoming a better team, rebuilding the Lions’ identity, and preparing for their next opponent, the Carolina Panthers, on Sunday night.
Survive and advance. The Lions got the win, and now they have another opportunity to build on it.
Let’s get into the Week 3 stock report following Detroit’s second win of the season.
Stock up: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB
Jahmyr Gibbs again showed why he is magically delicious to root for and rely on. Like a leprechaun finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Gibbs heel-clicked his way into the end zone on his third trip there Sunday for the game-winning score. No matter how hard the Jets tried to focus on catching Gibbs—they’re always after me Lucky Charms—they couldn’t contain him.
Since Gibbs entered the league in 2023, there have been only 23 individual games in which a player recorded at least 150 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. After torching the Jets for 164 total yards and three touchdowns on 27 touches, Gibbs is now the only player to accomplish the feat four times over that span. Jonathan Taylor is the only other player to even do it three times. Not bad against a defense that was allowing less than 200 total yards per game prior to Week 3.
Gibbs is the engine of the Detroit Lions offense, contributing to 11 of the team’s 24 first downs on the day. And while he somehow uncorked a Barry Sanders-esque, full-field cutback run, remarkably, that 17-yard scamper was his longest play of the afternoon.
He didn’t kill the Jets with long gashes. Instead, it was an incredibly mature, patient performance as a runner. Gibbs consistently paced his runs, waited for his offensive line to drive defenders, found creases, and churned out positive yardage. Pair that with his efficiency in the receiving game, and Gibbs continually kept the Lions offense moving without needing the explosive plays that usually define his highlight reel.
Stock up: Alim McNeill, DT
Between his contract extension, season-ending injury, recovery, underwhelming season back from injury, and ironman workload, Twinkle Toes has spent plenty of time in the spotlight among Lions fans and some media, usually with some degree of scrutiny. Against the Jets, the Lions’ enigmatic defensive tackle received a more manageable workload and was arguably their best defender on the field.
McNeill was a wrecking ball who heated up as a pass rusher in the second half, consistently finding an edge, particularly against center Josh Myers and right guard Joe Tippmann. He even lined up at times like a hooper lurking menacingly in a two-point stance before attacking the pocket.
McNeill had only one game with more than three quarterback pressures last season, per NFL Pro, and his seven pressures against the Jets tied for the most he’s recorded in a game since Week 11 of 2022. His timely red-zone sack was massive, but his impact extended well beyond it. Two other pressures directly led to sacks for the defense, another forced an incompletion, and his physical work in the run game helped limit carries to minimal gains finished off by second-level defenders.
It was an encouraging performance against a good interior offensive line, and one McNeill can build on.
Stock down: D.J. Reed, Roger McCreary, & Rock Ya-Sin, CBs
The veteran cornerback trio were the main culprits in the Jets’ comeback effort. Oftentimes, they were in tight, physical coverage and simply lost out on contested catches or precision throws placed where only the receiver could reach them. Still, their performances won’t cut it against better passing offenses, and they nearly cost the Lions on Sunday.
Reed, McCreary, and Ya-Sin combined to allow 12 catches on 15 targets for 166 receiving yards (13.8 yards per reception), two touchdowns, zero pass breakups, and three penalties. Reed and McCreary each allowed a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeted. Ya-Sin practically walked onto the field and was immediately handed a defensive pass interference penalty, much to the dismay of the Lions fanbase. Too much biting and grabbing from the entire lot of them.
Reed will bounce back with stronger games in coverage, as he showed against the Bills, and McCreary deserves a little more runway in his part-time outside cornerback role in base defense alongside his nickelback duties. But Garrett Wilson, the Jets’ tight ends, and even Isaiah Williams got the best of this bunch on Sunday.
Stock up: Penei Sewell & Blake Miller, OTs
What a relief it was to get Blake Miller back, even if you hardly knew he was there—in a good way. The further along this season gets, the more Miller gets to settle in at right tackle, while Penei Sewell continues to look increasingly like a lockdown natural protecting Goff’s blind side.
Sewell was a force in the run game, pushing interior defenders downfield like a blocking sled on runs up the middle, sealing off the edge on runs off his tail, and being a menace on the backside to ensure there was no leakage and Gibbs had cutback lanes when needed. Miller wasn’t quite as dominant in the run game, but he grabbed his lunch pail and went to work while also being nearly spotless in pass protection against second-overall pick David Bailey and Will McDonald IV.
The afternoon wasn’t completely spotless, with Sewell flagged for a hold that wiped out a productive Gibbs run and Miller committing a false start, but those were rare blemishes on an otherwise strong performance from Detroit’s bookends.
Gibbs’ 5.0 yards before contact per rush was the eighth-best mark of his career, and it wasn’t inflated by any untouched, full-field explosive runs. His 65.0% success rate was also the fourth-best of his career, with the offensive line—and these two hog mollies in particular—playing a major role in that success. With only the fourth-and-one failed attempt being the one costly negative run play.
Miller hitting and the Lions potentially having cornerstone bookends for at least the next five seasons would go a long way toward this offense remaining a juggernaut and extending Detroit’s championship-caliber window.
Stock up: 2024 Draft Class – Ennis Rakestraw Jr. CB, Sione Vaki, RB, Christian Mahogany, LG
Kidnappers aside, the over-discussed, dead-horse-beaten, much-maligned draft class from the draft in Detroit had three players active Sunday who, still only at the beginning of their third seasons, continue to carve out roles and all contributed to helping the Lions secure a victory.
While McCreary started at outside cornerback, Rakestraw came in and took over that role in obvious passing situations, playing 23 snaps—a third of his career snaps—with 22 coming on passing plays. He rose to the occasion, often matched up with Wilson, who caught only one of four targets against Rakestraw for a tightly contested six-yard chain mover. Rakestraw also recorded a pass breakup against WIlson and showed he deserves more opportunities moving forward.
The Lions were more dedicated to spelling Jahmyr Gibbs in this one, and part of that may have been Gibbs’ early issues in pass protection. That’s an area where Vaki was stout in protecting Goff after it brought him under heat early, even popping Demario Davis with a thud that sent him to his seat. Vaki was also effective with the ball in his hands, turning seven touches into 37 yards (5.3 yards per touch) and three first downs, including one after splitting two defenders on a checkdown and another on a short-yardage carry.
Mahogany rounded out the crew’s effective afternoon by having as good of a day as some of his best games prior to last year’s injury, resembling the player who stepped in twice as a rookie. Mahogany blew defenders off the ball in the run game on multiple occasions but was particularly stout in pass protection, pitching a shutout with zero pressures allowed on 17 pass-rush reps against T’Vondre Sweat and Harrison Phillips.
Sunday offered an encouraging glimpse of three players continuing to find ways to contribute.
Quick Hits
STOCK UP:
- Isaac TeSlaa, WR: Three catches, three first downs, including a clutch fourth-down red-zone catch and the biggest reception of the day with a 49-yard catch-and-run late in the fourth quarter. That should keep the internet wolves off his heels for some time.
- Jameson Williams, WR: Not quite the Waymo blast-off game everyone knows he’s capable of, but Williams got involved early with a first down on the Lions’ first offensive play and later made a gravity-defying, full-extension leaping grab for 20-plus yards on an eventual second-half touchdown drive. He registered a +20.7% catch rate over expectation, a welcome contrast to his Week 1 drop issues.
- Jackson Meeks, TE: Limited snaps (10), with half of them coming in-line or out of the backfield, but his involvement was notable with Tyler Conklin inactive. Meeks also made his first career catch with an eight-yard grab on the team’s opening drive of the second half.
- Juice Scruggs, C: Scruggs looked much more like his Week 1 form. He continues to show an ability to combo and climb well, including on a big third-and-4 conversion by Gibbs, while also handling the pre-snap communication with Jared Goff really well.
- D.J. Wonnum, DE: Two third-down sacks, including one after a fancy dip move against left tackle Olu Fashanu, in his best game as a Lion. Let him feast on a steady diet of throwing speed-to-power at offensive tackles.
- Aidan Hutchinson, DE: Hutch is consistently good for at least five pressures and a sack each game. His 36.6% pass-rush win rate was a season high and the third-highest mark of any defender this week.
- Skyler Gill-Howard, DT: Already such a valuable asset as the first defensive tackle off the bench, making his mostly designated passing-down presence felt with three total pressures and half a sack.
- Derrick Barnes, LB: Continues to make splash plays. Barnes had a major hustle chase-down of a Breece Hall cutback on the opening drive, stopped Smith short on a third-down scramble, dropped Hall for a tackle for loss, blasted a lead blocker before taking down Hall for no gain at the goal line, and reeled in Wilson for minimal gain on a drag route.
- Trevor Nowaske, LB: Nowaske stepped up massively as the surprise third linebacker. In the fourth quarter alone, he galloped in pursuit to shut down a goal-line weakside pitch to Hall, beat a tight end’s block from his SAM linebacker role to tackle Hall in the hole, and brought Hall down for no gain on a checkdown—his second excellent open-field coverage tackle of the day. He also registered a quarterback hit after blitzing and knocking the running back on his butt.
- Christian Izien, S: Arguably the best performance by a Lions safety this season. Izien did his best Brian Branch impression in the strong safety role.
- Jacob Saylors, KR: Two kick returns for 81 yards, including a career-long 44-yarder.
STOCK DOWN:
- Brock Wright, TE: Had two short catches but continued to struggle as a pass protector, while a few run-blocking whiffs would’ve resulted in blown-up runs if not for some Jahmyr Gibbs magic. It’s unfortunate that with the influx of blocking tight ends over the last two NFL drafts, the Lions haven’t been able to capitalize.
- Derrick Moore, DE: Still treading water on limited snaps (a season-low nine) and missed Hall in the backfield on his best opportunity for a splash play. He did continue to provide some solid backside penetration.
- Levi Onwuzurike, DT: A second consecutive game with minimal snaps (11) without making much of a dent on the offense. It may still take him some time to get back close to the player he was before.
- Defending tight ends: Kelvin Sheppard doesn’t deserve another full stock down—it’s hard for his stock to get much lower than it was after last week’s performance—but finding a way to stop getting lambasted by opposing tight ends needs to be a priority. The Jets’ three tight ends combined for 13 catches, 164 yards, and two touchdowns. Not great with Trey McBride looming two weeks from now.
STOCK NEUTRAL:
- Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR: It was a very pedestrian stat line, and his third-down drop was a bummer, but there’s no cause for concern. He still drew plenty of the defense’s focus away from others and remained a goal-line weapon with his touchdown and ability to manipulate constricted space.
- Chuck Clark, S: Calling game was huge, and he continues to show up in the run game, but I still have issues with the lack of ground he covers in that single-high free safety role.
