DETROIT (AP) — Aaron Glenn didn't have to devise schemes to stop Detroit's powerful offense for four seasons as the Lions' defensive coordinator.
Now the Jets' head coach, he lacked that luxury Sunday and New York had no answers for Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions with the game on the line in a 31-24 loss.
After the Jets fought back from a 14-point deficit in the second half and tied it at 24 with 4:06 remaining, they allowed Detroit to drive
for the deciding touchdown in just four plays.
The need to pay attention to Gibbs and star receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams allowed slot receiver Isaac TeSlaa to break open on a 49-yard pass from Goff on the first play. Gibbs was lost in coverage on his 11-yard touchdown reception that put Detroit ahead to stay.
“Can't let those things happen,” said Glenn, the Jets' second-year head coach who was the Lions' defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2024.
The Jets' defense — ranked No. 1 overall in yardage allowed coming in and No. 2 against both the pass and run — had shown significant improvement in their first two games compared to last season's woeful 3-14 campaign. They held Tennessee to 10 points and 195 total yards in a season-opening victory. Their 20-17 overtime loss to Green Bay last Sunday couldn't be pinned on a defense that held the Packers to 199 total yards.
Going up against an offense that produced exactly 31 points for the third straight game was a major step up in class. They kept the Lions under control before halftime, holding Detroit to 10 points.
But after the break, Goff completed all 10 of his pass attempts while Gibbs rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
“In the first half, just from a defensive standpoint, I thought we did a really good job,” Glenn said. “That is a tough team to try to contain with all those weapons they have. In the second half, I felt like we allowed them to get some momentum and there were a couple of plays that we just didn't execute. I've got to help them, also, when it comes to the concepts that we call.”
His former boss gave him plenty of credit for throwing his team a second-half scare.
“They gave us all we could handle,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. “They play hard. They take on the identity of that coach, which is a credit to him. I know what it’s like being on the other side of that. They had a chance at the end.”
Glenn acknowledged this loss hurt a little more than most.
“I love him to death. I do,” Glenn said of Campbell. “He's a huge part of how I've grown within this league. But this was a tough one for us.”
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