EAST RUTHERFORD- On a Sunday afternoon that sees Calvin Johnson play seldom snaps and only accumulate 12 yards on 2 receptions, you would think you’d like the Jets chances of winning the football game. Especially the fact that the Jets run defense took away the explosive rushing attack of Reggie Bush (12 rushes for 46 yards) and Joique Bell (8 rushes for 32 yards), which was held to a combined 78 yards. But that was not the case as the Jets fell to 1-3 on the season with a 24-17 loss at home to the Lions.
The Jets saw themselves down 17-3 at halftime, as red zone efficiency was still an issue. The offense has been settling for field goals all year, and we all know that in the NFL touchdowns win games. In the third quarter, they pulled to within 7 with an 11 yard TD pass to Eric Decker from Smith. But then the Lions extended their lead at the start of the 4th quarter, with a Matthew Stafford quarterback sneak which was reviewed and confirmed that he broke the plain. The Jets would respond with a score from Chris Johnson on a rush of 35 yards to bring them to 24-17, but would not score again.
The story of the game has been the poor play of Geno Smith. He had another game of multiple turnovers, a fumble lost and interception. Even with the 17 completions on 33 attempts for 209 yards, Ryan is still sticking by his quarterback. The 2nd quarterback drafted in last year’s draft has put up dismal numbers so far this season. On the year he has just a 60.3 completion percentage and has more interceptions (5) than touchdowns (4). Three of those five interceptions have came when the game is within 7 points. Smith also has thrown an interception in every game this season, including one in the red-zone. In a performance based league, at what point does Smith’s upside not overtake his performance?
Smith has struggled this season thusfar
Another story for the game was the poor play from the Jets secondary. They let Matthew Stafford throw for 293 yards and 2 TD’s. Stafford didn’t throw an interception and hit 8 different receivers. If the Jets are going to take control of the wide open AFC East, they will need to find an answer for their poor performing secondary.
A bright spot all year has been the great play of the Jets rushing attack. Sunday against the Lions, Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson had strong performances. Johnson scored his first touchdown as Jet, and Ivory had 84 yards on 17 rushing attempts.
The Jets do not have it easy as they have to turn it around with a tough three games ahead of them. They play 2 of their next 3 on the road, to the Chargers and Patriots. Their home game on the 12th will be against the defending AFC champion Broncos. They very well could be 1-6 at the end of this stretch, which we then would have to question the job security of Rex Ryan. Philip Rivers will be the Jets next opponent, and Rivers is arguably the hottest quarterback in the league right now.
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