Jets Explain What Went Wrong on Lions' Game-Winning Touchdown

C.J. Mosley, D.J. Reed and Robert Saleh broke down what happened on defense when the Lions stunned the Jets with a 51-yard touchdown on fourth and inches on Sunday.

The Jets were one stop away from a win over the Lions on Sunday.

That's when Lions tight end Brock Wright broke free at the line of scrimmage, snagging a pass on fourth down and inches from Jared Goff with plenty of daylight.

Wright wasn't touched by a Jet defender until he was within the five yard line, tumbling forward into the end zone for a 51-yard score, a touchdown that turned out to be the game-winner in Detroit's 20-17 victory. 

New York's defense has been reliable, consistent and for the most part, dominant throughout the 2022 season, a key component in this team's ability to exceed external expectations. Sunday's snafu on that fourth-and-inches play was the difference in the game, a letdown on the defensive side of the ball that makes New York's journey to a possible postseason spot even tougher. 

"Obviously we're all devastated," Jets cornerback D.J. Reed told reporters shortly after the loss. "As a defense, we put that on us. We want to be in those situations. We have a top defense in the NFL. We put that on us, put that on our chest, we'll take that to the chin. You gotta give credit to them for that play."

Made the Wright play on 4th down!#DETvsNYJ | 📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/RkLdogmS3S

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 18, 2022

Reed explained that New York wasn't expecting Detroit's tight end to leak out as a receiver on that short-yardage play, something they hadn't seen on film.

"If we stop the run, we win the game," said Reed. "[Wright] blocked for about one or two seconds. If you see your man block, you're going to naturally trigger for the run. He kind of just squirted out to the other side of the field and was wide open. The receivers ran deeper-developing routes on the other side of the field so once he caught the ball, everyone else was on the other side of the field."

The way head coach Robert Saleh described it, New York gave up eye discipline in man coverage. Somebody was supposed to guard the tight end. When he ran his route, there was nobody near him.

"We're in the position we are in because our defense plays its tail off and it's a back-and-forth game," Saleh explained. "It's the NFL. You're going to have ebbs and flows. From a defensive standpoint, you want to pride yourself on being able to close a game out right there. We had our opportunity on a fourth and an inch. They threw the ball and there's no reason for that play to happen. Good for them."

"You can play as great as you want, but when it comes down to the 4th quarter, that's when you got to be your best. It's very unfortunate that one play we weren't our best, cause that did determine the game even though we balled out"

-C.J. Mosley on the last minutes of the game pic.twitter.com/MCLUkQG5C4

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) December 18, 2022

It comes down to execution when the game is on the line. The Jets understand that teams must capitalize in those situations if they want to win and make the playoffs. In this case, one breakdown late in the fourth quarter washed away another solid performance.

"They got us," linebacker C.J. Mosley added. "It's a very tough pill to swallow. At the end of the day, to win games in the NFL and to be successful and to be relevant, we've got to execute at all levels. That's what we didn't do."

New York has no time to dwell on this play, needing to move on and prepare for Thursday Night Football against the surging Jaguars. Every game is a must-win for New York at this point in the season—they'll need some help from other clubs in the hunt too if they want to sneak into the postseason.

"We made our own bed," Mosley said. "We've got to fix it, wake up in the morning and get back to it. We've got a quick turnaround this week against another good team on Thursday night. We can't dwell on this, gotta watch the film and really just get back to work, control what we can control."

MORE:

• What Happened to the Jets' Pass Rush Against the Lions?
• 'Gotta Be Better': Zach Wilson Evaluates His Performance in Loss to Lions
• Should Jets' Robert Saleh Be on the Hot Seat?

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