The New York Jets and Detroit Lions enter their Week 3 matchup on polar opposites of the defensive spectrum.

New York leads the NFL in total defense (197.0 yards per game). Detroit is 31st, allowing well over twice as many yards per game (446.5).

In terms of points, the Jets are sixth-best (13.5 points per game), while the Lions are 31st (35.5).

Granted, each team’s level of competition must be taken into account. The Jets faced a struggling Cam Ward and an injury-riddled Packers offense in the rain. The Lions faced a Saints offense that is showing elite potential and the Josh Allen-led Bills.

The gap between these two defenses will likely close as the season progresses. Still, the Lions’ defense is ripe for the picking as the Jets look to rebound from a heartbreaking collapse in Week 2.

How can New York expose Detroit’s struggling defense?

The Lions are actually defending well in some areas

As shocking as it may seem for a team coughing up 35.5 points per game, the Lions actually rank quite well in a few important defensive categories.

First and foremost, they are tackling incredibly well. The Lions have a league-low 4.8% missed tackle rate, per Pro Football Focus, missing just seven tackles as a team. No player on their defense has missed more than one tackle. This means that the Jets probably won’t be able to count on their YAC game to move the ball.

Detroit is also putting solid pressure on the quarterback. Led by Aidan Hutchinson’s hot start (3.0 sacks, 6 QB hits), the Lions are tied for fourth in both sacks (7) and quarterback hits (17). They will challenge a New York offensive line that has been outstanding in pass protection.

Typically, these numbers would be a formula for success. Instead, the Lions are coughing up more points than any other franchise that does not play in the state of Indiana.

That’s because things are going really poorly elsewhere.

Detroit’s coverage is in the gutter

The Lions knew before the season that they would be without their star safety duo of Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph for at least four games, as both players were put on the PUP list.

So far, those losses have been felt to an immense degree. Despite the Lions’ excellent tackling and pass rushing, their coverage has been bad enough to override both of those strengths.

Detroit has allowed the second-most passing touchdowns (6) and the second-most passing yards (621). They are not doing a great job of getting their hands on the ball, as they rank 21st with only 10.3% of opponent pass attempts resulting in a pass defended. This is where the Lions miss their star safeties, who combined for 28 passes defended when they last played a fully healthy season together in 2024.

Without Branch and Joseph to anchor the back end, the Lions’ entire coverage unit seems out of sync. They do not have one or two liabilities sinking them; there are many players struggling, and some of them are accomplished veterans who you expect to see better results from.

Detroit is home to four of the league’s top 40 players in yards allowed in coverage:

  • 10. CB D.J. Reed (135) — 6th among CB
  • 29. S Avonte Maddox (102) — 5th among S
  • 32. CB Rock Ya-Sin (99) — 21st among CB
  • 40. LB Jack Campbell (94) — 10th among LB

They are the only team with four defenders in the top 40.

Most of the issues stem from those four players. Combined, they have allowed opponents to complete 32 of 46 passes for 430 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions, which equates to a 135.2 passer rating.

Half of the NFL’s 32 teams have allowed fewer than 430 passing yards this season.

New York can have success by targeting either of Detroit’s starting outside corners, Reed and Ya-Sin, or by going after Campbell and Maddox in the middle. There are plenty of options to choose from, and, based on the Lions’ first two games, the back end will yield enough separation for the Jets to have success through the air even if the pass rush gets home.

Soft interior

The Lions’ defensive line is getting after the quarterback, but they are not holding up against the run. Detroit ranks 28th in rushing yards allowed (147.0 per game) and 25th in yards per rush attempt allowed (4.8).

A lot of this comes from Josh Allen’s 14 carries for 69 yards and two touchdowns in Week 2, but the Lions still allowed running back James Cook to run for 135 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.

The Lions are particularly vulnerable up the middle. Across 30 opponent rush attempts directed toward “left guard”, “middle”, or “right guard” (per the official play-by-play), Detroit has allowed 5.8 yards per attempt, ranking second-worst behind only Carolina.

On runs directed elsewhere, the Lions have been respectable, yielding 4.2 yards per attempt. You can pound them between the tackles, though.

The main culprits appear to be the linebackers. Detroit’s linebacker unit has a league-worst 49.4 cumulative PFF run defense grade.

The Lions’ starting linebackers simply aren’t making plays against the run. It starts with the fact that Jack Campbell, Detroit’s starter at middle linebacker and a first-team All-Pro in 2025, is off to an ice-cold start. After leading linebackers with 45 run stops last year, he only has two through two games, tied for 34th.

If Campbell bounces back, the Lions should be in a position to fix one of their greatest current weaknesses. Until he does, though, the Jets should be eager to test him and the rest of Detroit’s porous interior run defense.

New York ran the ball well between the tackles in Week 1, only to fall off the face of the Earth in Week 2, with Green Bay stuffing the Jets’ interior runs all game long. Much of that had to do with the Packers stacking the box.

The Jets need to back Detroit off so they can’t compromise for their struggling individual execution in the run game by allocating more resources to that phase. If New York can beat the Lions with the pass early and often, Detroit won’t feel comfortable dropping extra defenders into the box, allowing the Jets to rely heavier on their rushing attack as the game progresses.

Jets head coach Aaron Glenn knows this Lions defense well; defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard worked under Glenn as a linebackers coach for four years before replacing Glenn in 2025. Whatever holes exist in Detroit’s defense, Glenn should be able to help Frank Reich craft an ideal game plan to exploit them.