After suffering a gut-wrenching loss in Week 2 to the Green Bay Packers, the New York Jets (1-1) are back on the road for Week 3 when they face the Detroit Lions (1-1) at Ford Field.
The Jets were on their way to their first 2-0 start since 2015, but some questionable coaching decisions as well as penalties at bad times allowed the Packers to come back and force overtime where they won on a 26-yard field goal from kicker Trey Smack to win in a 20-17 final.
This will be another major test for the Jets and for head coach Aaron Glenn, who was the subject of plenty of criticism for his decision making at the end of the game. How the Jets bounce back from a tough loss will be important to watch for the team's development.
With that, here are Jets Wire's
three key matchups against the Lions:
Adonai Mitchell vs. Rock Ya-Sin
Detroit’s defense is one of the worst in the league and Rock Ya-Sin is a big reason why. He grades out as one of the worst cornerbacks in the league according to PFF with a grade of 42.2, ranking him 86th. He’s allowed a combined passer rating of 106.0 to opposing quarterbacks over the first two games and has allowed 11 receptions in coverage. While it’s only two games, the Lions are allowing an average of over 457 yards in total offense.
While offensive coordinator Frank Reich will probably mix and match receiver Garrett Wilson out wide and in the slot, expect Mitchell to draw Ya-Sin for a good portion of Sunday’s game.
Mitchell has gotten off to a good start with 123 yards on nine catches over two games and is quietly developing into a solid complimentary receiver to Wilson and a dependable deep threat. Geno Smith will probably pick on Ya-Sin whenever he can and should take plenty of shots downfield with Mitchell's speed as a key advantage.
Olu Fashanu vs. Aidan Hutchinson
Fashanu has gotten off to a terrific start for the Jets, ranking second out of 66 tackles with a PFF grade of 80.1. He’s surrendered only four pressures and allowed zero sacks. His pass blocking grade is 84.3, also ranking him second overall among tackles.
While Detroit’s defense is one of the worst in the league, they have one of the best pass rushers in the game in Hutchinson. He’s third overall among defensive ends with a PFF grade of 90.9, has three sacks and one forced fumble. He’s tied for second overall with 16 pressures and has a pass rush grade of 91.1, best in the league. Needless to say, Olu will have his hands full with Hutchinson and will be looking to redeem himself after a rough week for the offensive line last week against the Packers.
Aaron Glenn vs. Time
Last week’s loss still stings for Jets fans and they've put the blame solely on the head coach. Glenn made mistakes, but he was far from the primary reason they lost to the Packers in overtime. However, his clock management issues are front and center and those need to be fixed immediately.
Glenn elected not to call a timeout with just over a minute to play in the fourth quarter of a tie game, allowing the Packers to run out the clock. The Jets also had another odd sequence with plenty of time before the end of the first half but couldn’t get to the line fast enough for one last play. This was the second game in a row where the Jets had the ball at the end of the first half and had no sense of urgency to run a play to try and score.
Glenn must make sure the team is ready to play on Sunday. He can ill afford a slow start on either side of the ball as the Lions offense is explosive with Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown. But, most importantly, he needs to take advantage of every opportunity to score, regardless of how much time is on the clock. The buck stops with him and one can only hope that he will learn from his mistakes last week and be much better at clock management against one of the top offenses in the league.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Jets at Lions: 3 key matchups to watch in Week 3
