The Detroit Lions and New York Jets have not done a lot on offense this season. Both teams have managed to accomplish certain things only because their defenses have run wild.
Detroit Lions @ New York Jets
Sunday, September 28th – 1:00 PM ET
Odds: Detroit -1
Why The Lions Will Cover
They have a defense that can completely stop the Jets and take control of this game. Detroit’s defense was good enough to win a game by itself last weekend. The Lions scored a safety and a touchdown on defense, producing a total of nine points, which was two more than the Green Bay Packers scored all game long. That’s right – Detroit’s defense scored nine points, and Green Bay’s team scored seven. The Lions’ offense added 10 points, but the defense outscored Green Bay by itself and gave Detroit a 9-7 halftime lead.
Detroit didn’t score its first, and only, offensive touchdown until there were just 10 minutes and 40 seconds left in the game. If you had told the Lions that their offense would score only 10 points and that the team wouldn’t get its first offensive touchdown until the fourth quarter, the team and head coach Jim Caldwell would have said that a loss was almost certain against the Packers and their superstar quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. That Detroit’s defense could bail out the offense against a nemesis and a well-known elite quarterback speak to the Lions’ ability to make life difficult for opposing offenses. The Jets, to be charitable, do not have an elite quarterback. Geno Smith is still struggling in his attempts to learn how to become a better NFL signal caller. If Detroit can hold down the Packers, it can hold down the Jets as well.
Why The Jets Will Cover
The Jets also have a defense that can win this game, but they might also get some help from Detroit. The Jets and coach Rex Ryan are dependent on their defense, because they know that Geno Smith is unsteady. New York just wants Smith to be able to manage the game and not commit any big mistakes. He threw two interceptions this past Sunday against the Chicago Bears, but the team knows that Smith doesn’t need to make special plays for this team to win. He just has to avoid turnovers. That’s not an easy thing, and there’s no guarantee it will happen, but the main idea to remember is that the Jets don’t have to be spectacular to win. They just need to be solid. The defense just needs a basic amount of help from the offense.
The other thing to note here is that Detroit’s offense could help out the Jets and their defense. The Lions are 2-0 at home this season, but in their road game, they scored only seven points against another good defensive team, the Carolina Panthers. Detroit usually does poorly away from home, and Matthew Stafford, who threw two interceptions this past Sunday against Green Bay, has not yet arrived as an NFL quarterback. New York could smother Detroit in this game.
Outlook
If Detroit can win here, it will prove itself as a next-level team, but the Lions have been the working definition of a team that usually fails to prove itself. Go with the Jets.
Pick: Jets +1
