6 takeaways from the Jets' painfully close Week 3 loss to Lions

The New York Jets came painfully close to taking it to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Sunday, ultimately falling 31-24. Geno Smith and the Jets offense had a chance to tie it late, but a Chuck Clark sack-fumble sealed the game for Detroit.

There were an unfortunate number of injuries for the Jets, including two starters on offense. Considering the number of injuries the team came in with, it was still a promising outing.

What stood out the most in Week 3 for Aaron Glenn's scrappy Jets? In both a positive-- and negative light?

6 takeaways from the New York Jets' Week 3 loss to Lions

1. The Kenyon Sadiq breakout game

With the Jets going into this game without Adonai Mitchell and Mason Taylor, you knew they were going to need some standout performances from their other pass catchers.

First-round draft pick Kenyon Sadiq had his breakout game, hauling in seven receptions for 105 yards and a circus-catch touchdown grab for the team's first score of the day.

The Oregon product lived up to his lofty pre-draft expectations in Week 3, and hopefully, it's a sign of things to come for the athletic specimen.

2. Jets heard the Garrett Wilson noise

Throughout the first two weeks of the season, it felt like the Jets were underutilizing Garrett Wilson. He had been targeted only 14 times through Weeks 1 and 2, but on Sunday, New York was force-feeding him.

Without his WR2 pulling attention away, Wilson hauled in 10 catches for 107 yards and the game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter. He was unstoppable.

He exited the game on the second-to-last play of the Jets' final drive, hopefully, eveything's okay for the Jets lone offensive superstar.

3. What's going on with Chris Banjo's special teams?

In 2025, the Jets had one of the league's best special teams units. It was the one area of the team you could hang your hat on.

Well, over the last two weeks, Chris Banjo's special teams unit has been a negative for New York. They've allowed multiple long returns, and their blocking on kick returns has particularly stood out as bad.

This is something the Jets need to fix in the coming weeks if they want to get back in the win column.

4. Geno Smith is still slingin' it

Coming into this game, analysts around the league liked to point out how productive Geno Smith has been against the Lions throughout his career. He did not disappoint today.

Smith carved up the Lions' depleted secondary, completing 31 of 37 pass attempts for 321 yards and three touchdowns. He had the fumble to close out the game, but you can hardly place that blame squarely on him.

If the veteran quarterback keeps playing like this, it's hard to see the Jets not being a competitive team in 2026.

5. Jets defense may have been fools gold

Going into Week 3, the Jets had the league's best defense in terms of yards given up per game to opponents. After today, you may be able to chalk that up to their first two opponents.

The Lions carved up the defense on Sunday, recording 381 yards of total offense. Jared Goff threw for 269 yards, and Jahmyr Gibbs recorded 164 scrimmage yards.

Detroit has a great offense, and it's hard to shut down a player like Gibbs. But the Jets needed a better outing from Aaron Glenn's unit to get the win today.

6. Injury bug is biting the Jets hard

The Jets were undermanned heading into their Week 3 matchup with the Lions, missing key starters in Minkah Fitzpatrick and Adonai Mitchell. It didn't get much better during the game.

New York lost starting left guard Dylan Parham in the second half, and he was quickly ruled out with a knee injury. Breece Hall, the Jets' starting running back, also exited early with a thigh injury.

We'll see how severe those injuries end up being in the coming days.

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