The New York Jets (1-2) came close to beating the Green Bay Packers last week in a game that went into overtime, but it seemed like the Jets were confident in their ability to get back into the win column. With New York visiting the Detroit Lions
(2-1) on Sunday, the Jets had a chance to pull off an upset without having to worry about adverse weather conditions, but late-game execution is still an issue.The Jets lost to the Lions 31-24 on Sunday despite quarterback Geno Smith having his best game of the season because New York was unable to hold onto the football in the end. Smith completed 31 of his 37 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns, but he fumbled the ball with 51 seconds left in the game, allowing the Lions to enter victory formation
shortly afterwards.
The Jets had to deal with some big injuries as running back Breece Hall had to leave the game due to a thigh injury and wide receiver Garrett Wilson had to leave the contest after suffering a big hit. While New York wasn't able to complete the comeback due to some execution issues, they were able to see some of their key players step up in a huge game so here is the stock report following Sunday's loss to the Lions:
Stock Up: QB Geno Smith
When Smith was traded from the Raiders to the Jets, some Jets fans had to be hoping that the veteran would be able to turn things around after how he looked last season. Smith had by far his best performance of the season as he threw the ball all over the yard to put New York in a position to pull off an upset on the road over a tough Lions team.
Stock Down: Jets Running Game
Before Hall left the game with a thigh injury, he wasn't able to get anything going on the ground against Detroit, but neither was Braelon Allen once he subbed into the game in place of Hall. New York wasn't able to own the line of scrimmage, even with Smith lighting up the Lions' secondary and that will be something to address after this narrow loss.
Stock Up: LB Demario Davis
Despite the Jets being unable to pull off an upset on the road, Davis did his part to keep his team in the game as he was all over the field with his defensive, physical presence. Davis totaled 10 tackles (seven solo) while throwing in a tackle for a loss and a sack, displaying his total ability to affect the game in multiple ways, especially on the ground game.
Stock Down: DE Will McDonald IV
McDonald has had a slow start to this season as despite being one of the starting defensive linemen, he still has just one tackle through his first three games of the campaign. Since coming to the Jets, McDonald has shown his ability to be an impactful defensive player, but as of now, this season is setting up to be a disappointing one for the former first-round pick.
Stock Up: WR Garrett Wilson
Wilson appeared to form a quick connection with Smith over the course of training camp, but the first two games of the season showed that Smith was trying to get the entire passing corps involved. On Sunday in Detroit, Smith did not waste any time getting Wilson the ball and the former Ohio State Buckeye responded by having his best games of the season despite having to leave the game with an injury late in the contest.
Stock Up: TE Kenyon Sadiq
Sadiq came into this season with plenty of hype after being selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but he had a slow start to this season while the team worked him into the offense. Against the Lions, Sadiq showed all of the parts of his game that made everyone praise him for his athletic talent and how that could propel to being one of the better tight ends in the league pretty quickly.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Stock up, stock down following the Jets' loss to the Lions
