As we mentioned on Sunday, the biggest reason the Jets lost to the Detroit Lions was their run defense.
#1.
The Lions ran for 133 yards.
But it wasn’t just the impact of these big runs with regard to the yards each gained, but the play-action pass opportunities it presented to Lions QB Jared Goff, which were numerous.
Here are four examples:
Late in the first quarter, on a play-action fake on second-and-8, Goff hit WR Amon-Ra St. Brown for 16 yards.
In the third quarter, on a play-action fake on first-and-10, TE Sam LaPorta got behind LB Demario Davis for a 28-yard gain. Davis came up to honor the run.
Also in the third quarter, Goff passed deep left to WR Jameson Williams for 21 yards. The play-action made Jamien Sherwood move forward a little, and the pass was behind him and in front of Andre Cisco.
And then the pièce de résistance for the Lions: Goff’s 49-yard completion to WR Isaac TeSlaa on their game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.
All four of these big plays were off play-action fakes, which led to big gaps in pass coverage because the linebacker had to respect the run.
The Jets’ defensive tackles struggled against the run in Detroit. The Lions’ interior linemen dominated the Jets’ DTs on too many plays . . .
The Jets had some protection issues on their last play on offense in Detroit, where Geno Smith was sacked by safety Chuck Clark and fumbled, ending their drive where they were attempting to tie the game at 31 and perhaps force overtime (unless they went for two).
Clark was blocked on his blitz.
Some thought, at first glance, it looked like running back Braelon Allen failed to pick up Clark, but according to free agent QB Mike White, appearing on SNY, it was left guard Jordan Meredith.
Meredith has been with the Jets a month, acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders on August 30, so perhaps he’s still not 100 percent comfortable with the Jets system.
So this takes us back to why the Jets had to trade for Meredith.
It was because the player they had planned to be the back interior swing lineman, Xavier Newman, had shotgun snapping issues throughout the summer.
If Newman didn’t have those issues, he likely would have been the backup swingman, and maybe that missed block wouldn’t have happened in Detroit.
Newman, a guard by trade, was well-versed in the Jets system, and he would have been the player filling in for the injured Dylan Parham late in the game.
Newman is now on the New England Patriots practice squad.
Meredith is actually more of a center than guard, and Newman is more of a guard than a center, but the backup swingman you bring to the game needs to do both, and Newman’s snapping issues forced the Jets’ hand.
This is not a case of second-guessing, because the Jets probably had to make a move with Newman’s snapping issues in the summer, but you could argue that with Newman was the player filling in for Parham, the strip-sack of Smith, due to nobody picking up Clark, probably doesn’t happen . . .
Aaron Glenn said that RB Breece Hall, WR Adonai Mitchell, TE Mason Taylor, LB Kiko Mauigoa, and LG Dylan Parham didn’t practice today and are all “week to week.”
If the coach says they are all “week to week,” then theoretically all of them could play this Sunday, right? . . .
We talked last week about the brutality of the tight end position that basically combines being an offensive lineman and a receiver.
Last week we talked about Jeremy Ruckert and Jelani Woods wearing leg sleeves in practice. They were fine to play, but usually compression sleeves mean there is something bothering you.
There’s something bothering everybody in a league with a 100 percent injury rate.
Both Ruckert and Woods obviously both played in Detroit and played well.
This week, the other two “healthy” tight ends, Kenyon Sadiq and Andrew Beck, each had compression sleeves on one of their legs.
That position will kick the crap out of you . . .
Jets might need to mix things up at defensive tackle on Sunday after issues with the interior run defense the last two weeks.
They called up DT Jack Heflin from the practice squad last week to take the roster spot of David Onyemata, who went on short-term IR.
But maybe consider calling up Peyton Page this week.
Something needs to change.
As I wrote at the beginning of these Whispers, the Jets’ run defense was the biggest reason they lost last week—no way around it.
Goff loves play-action opportunities, and had plenty last Sunday.
And now the Jets face the offensive play-caller who resurrected Goff’s career with the Lions, Ben Johnson, the former Detroit OC, now the Chicago Bears head coach, who loves play-action, and helped Goff shine in Motown with it . . .
September 30, 2026
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