Recap: Detroit rallies past Jets on 4th-down touchdown to keep its playoff hopes alive
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. >> Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions were stymied for most of the game, unable to get much going against the New York Jets.
One stunning play reminded everyone how dangerous an offense they are.
Goff threw a go-ahead 51-yard touchdown pass to Brock Wright on fourth-and-1 with 1:49 remaining, and the Lions held on for a 20-17 victory over Zach Wilson and the Jets on Sunday that kept them on pace in the NFC playoff hunt.
“A lot of these close games are starting to lean more toward us than them,” said Goff, who went 23 of 38 for 252 yards. “That hasn’t always been the case around here. We fully believe in each other and know that somebody’s going to make a play to do something right.”
Coming out of the two-minute warning with Detroit (7-7) trailing 17-13, Goff looked to his left and found Wright wide open, and the tight end rumbled untouched until he reached the end zone. Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said the Jets thought Goff would sneak it.
And it came a few moments after Wright dropped a pass.
“I got back to him,” Goff said, “and he fully redeems himself for that play earlier in the drive.”
Added Wright: “I kept telling myself: ‘Reset. Finish.’”
That’s what the Lions, who entered fourth in overall offense after scoring 74 points and rolling up 902 yards in their previous two wins, have been doing as winners of three straight and six of seven after a dismal 1-6 start.
“You know you’ll be better,” coach Dan Campbell said. “You just don’t know how it’s going to get there, or what it’s going to be. You do know if you start playing better football, you can rattle off
some wins in a row.”
But the Lions, who have not been at .500 or better this late in the season since 2017, certainly had to sweat this one out.
Wilson — who had an up-and-down return as the starting quarterback — and the Jets had one more chance to tie or win.
On fourth-and-the game from the Jets 40, Wilson rolled to his right and completed a 20-yard pass to Elijah Moore for a first down. Coach Robert Saleh then called a timeout with 1 second remaining.
The Jets (7-7) sent out Greg Zuerlein for a potential tying 58-yard field goal, but his kick went wide left — further damaging the playoff hopes for New York, which is looking to snap an 11-year postseason drought.
“We had our opportunities all game,” Saleh said, “and we missed it.”
The loss came after it appeared New York was on its way to a comeback win of its own.
After Michael Badgley was short on a 54-yard field-goal attempt that would have extended Detroit’s lead, Wilson threw a go-ahead 1-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Uzomah with 4:41 remaining.
But New York’s defense, which had been solid the entire game even without an injured Quinnen Williams, couldn’t come up with a big stop.
Wilson, starting after being benched for three games, finished 18 of 35 for 317 yards with two touchdown throws to Uzomah — and an interception. Wilson played in place of the injured Mike White, who’s dealing with fractured ribs.
After Wilson and the Jets went three-and-out on their first possession of the game, Kalif Raymond caught Braden Mann’s punt out of the end zone, eluded a few would-be tacklers — and — raced 47 yards to the end zone to give the Lions a 7-0 lead.