The Jets suffered a tough loss to the Detroit Lions at MetLife Stadium, which knocked the team back to an even 7–7 record, and hampers their playoff hopes for the season.
Sunday’s game marks the third straight game the Jets have lost, and spoiled the return of quarterback Zach Wilson, who took back the reins under center for Gang Green after a rib injury to Mike White, who had started the previous three games.
The game was close for most of the afternoon, and ended on a missed last-second field goal attempt by kicker Greg Zuerlein.
That came after the team blew their four-point lead on the previous drive, when the Lions went 78 yards down the field and into the endzone over the course of seven plays.
So what happened?
Now, we’ll look at who performed well, and who struggled with another edition of Studs and Duds.
Like each week, this column will only look at the performance in the most recent game, identifying who stepped up and who struggled — and what fans can expect from the New York roster in the weeks to come.
DUDS
First, let’s look at the bad stuff.
Special teams
The Jets special teams have been a problem all year, and Sunday was no exception.
Detroit got the ball first to begin the game, and their defense held strong, forcing the Lions to turn the ball over on downs with a goal line stand at the New York 1 yard line. But when the Jets offense couldn’t muster anything special on their first offensive possession, they were forced to punt — and that’s when things went off the rails for the special teams unit.
Braden Mann kicked a 46 yard punt to Michael Badgley, who then took the kick to the house, and gave the Lions the first points of the game.
This is the same special teams unit that gave up a game-losing punt return touchdown to the New England Patriots in Week 11.
Later in the game, Wilson took the Jets down the field with a chance to tie the contest as time expired, but Zuerlein missed a 58 yard field goal to end the game.
It was another rough day for the special teams in New York, and they once again end up in the “Duds” category.
The running game
With Wilson back under center, it was always going to be crucial that the running game stepped up.
Unfortunately for Gang Green, they did not.
Undrafted rookie Bam Knight once again took the lead in the rushing attack for New York, and recorded just 23 yards on 13 carries — marking just 1.8 yards per attempt.
Michael Carter followed that with four attempts and 15 yards, while Wilson added seven yards on three scrambles.
In all, the Jets gained just 50 yards rushing through four quarters, and put far too much pressure on the lackluster passing attack for the Jets to win.
The running game of the Jets rightfully ends up in this week’s “Duds” category.
Elijah Moore’s relationship with Zach Wilson
Nobody should have had high hopes for Elijah Moore once it became clear that Wilson would be under center for the Jets, and any pessimism proved to be warranted.
Moore and Wilson clearly do not have a repertoire — and that even led to Moore requesting a trade earlier in the season, when Wilson was the consummate starter.
He played well in the three weeks with White as the quarterback, recording 131 yards and a touchdown, but when Wilson returned on Sunday, it was back to the same-old story.
Moore finished the game with a respectable four receptions for 51 yards, but that came on seven targets.
Beyond that, Moore was open for several plays that Wilson simply missed on.
The second-year wideout has been vocal about his frustration with the second-year quarterback, and Sunday showed exactly why.
STUDS
Now for the good things.
Sauce Gardner
The rookie cornerback of the Jets, who the team drafted selected overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, has established himself as one of the best rookie in his class, and has made an argument to be included among the best defensive players in the league regardless of seniority.
On Sunday, against a red-hot Lions offense, Detroit quarterback Jared Goff did not target Gardner a single time all game, according to Next Gen Stats.
His coverage was once again spectacular, as he simply locked down an entire side of the field for the Lions passing attack.
He is well on his way to winning Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Sunday showed exactly why.
Quincy Williams
The Jets came into the game without their best defensive player in Quinnen Williams, but Quincy Williams did his absolute best to make up for that absence.
Williams, the team’s linebacker, recorded seven total tackles, including two for a loss of yardage.
Beyond the statistics, Williams was a menace all game long in coverage and while blitzing Goff.
He was stellar, and made sure that the Lions never got comfortable in the running or passing game.
Nothing can replace Quinnen Williams, but Quincey Williams certainly stepped up.
