The Jets enter the final quarter of their season with two home games in the span of five days. They host the Detroit Lions in Week 15 in a matchup of teams no one expected to be in the playoff hunt at this stage, especially the Lions, who were 1-6 at one point.
Zach Wilson makes his return to the starting lineup after doctors would not medically clear Mike White for contact due to fractured ribs. Wilson starts for the first time since Week 11.
Wilson at least has a chance to finally take over the team lead in passing touchdowns, which Joe Flacco has held since Week 3.
How much Wilson has improved remains to be seen. Sure, he has gotten reps in practice with the scout team, but now he’s back with the big boys. His connections with his teammates, both on and off the field, will be worth watching, especially after his postgame comments after the Patriots’ loss in Week 11. We’ll see if Wilson can get better at taking care of the football and making better football decisions.
The Jets need to find a way to score points and finish drives because the Lions have the ability to explode on offense, led by wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. There’s your key matchup of the day: Sauce Gardner vs. St. Brown.
Gardner has been incredible as a rookie in slowing down an opponent’s top receiving threat. That has to continue Sunday if the Jets are to defeat the Lions. St. Brown has topped 100 yards in three of his last five games with three touchdowns in that stretch. He hasn’t dipped lower than 50 yards since suffering a head injury against the Cowboys on October 23.
With Quinnen Williams “50/50” to play, the depth of the Jets’ defensive line could have their chance to shine, especially against a Lions team that ranks just outside the top ten with 127.5 rushing yards per game. With D’Andre Swift healthy, the Lions have been able to work both backs, with Swift as the pass-catching running back and Jamaal Williams — who leads the league with 14 touchdowns — as the early-down and goal-line back.
Speaking of the goal line, the Jets have to finish drives and step up their red-zone defense. The Lions have been very good in the red-zone. Check this out from Lions Wire editor Jeff Risdon:
The Lions have been cruising in the red zone on both sides of the ball recently. The offense has been very effective at converting red zone possessions into touchdowns. The defense has gone from the worst in the league over the first seven games to 16th in the last six in the same category.
That will need to carry over into today’s game. The Lions defense cannot give up touchdowns to Zach Wilson when he guides the Jets into the red zone. On the flip side, Jared Goff has to stay sharp and hit those red zone shots to Brock Wright, Amon-Ra St. Brown and D’Andre Swift. Touchdowns over field goals.
New York’s own red zone defense is pretty good for the season, but they’ve been lousy lately; the last five opposing incursions into the Jets red zone have resulted in touchdowns. Opponents not named the Bears or Patriots have scored TDs on 14 of their last 16 red zone trips. No team is better at converting red zone possessions into touchdowns than these Lions.
The Jets cannot afford a repeat of what happened against the Vikings two weeks ago.
So what will happen?
Until we see that Wilson has truly improved his mechanics and fundamentals, it’s a bit tough to lean his way, especially when the offense as a whole has struggled to find the end zone. Can Mike LaFleur cook up a recipe in time to get the Jets into the playoffs?
Maybe the Jets surprise, but we’ll go with the Lions in a close one.
Prediction: Lions 20, Jets 16