What Happened to the Jets' Pass Rush Against the Lions?

After dominating up front all season long, the Jets were held without a sack on defense in their loss to the Lions on Sunday.

New York suffered a crushing loss to Detroit Sunday 20-17, and one of the most apparent problems was the lack of pass rush from the home team.

The Jets' defense logged zero sacks against the Lions, and after averaging 3.0 sacks per game on the season, that number has dropped to 2.3 on the average over the past three games.

Lions' quarterback Jared Goff responded by going 23-for-38 for 252 yards and one touchdown.

While those aren't world beater numbers, they were enough to keep Detroit trending toward an unlikely playoff appearance, and those numbers left New York petitioning Santa Claus for a trip to the postseason.

What's going on with the Jets' pass rush?

Granted, not having Quinnen Williams' monstrous presence in there didn't help, but why couldn't the rest of the defense get to Goff?

That answer was found on game film, and by taking a look at Goff's clean jersey.

Detroit ran the ball well (107 yards), which helped the Lions' keep the heat off their field general.

That didn't help, but neither did the Jets' game planning, which to me was the real problem.

With the season on the line, why wasn't New York's defensive pass rush more aggressive?

For some unknown reason, the pass rush didn't look or feel that aggressive. It didn't look too creative either. New York didn't blitz a whole lot and they mostly just sent a vanilla looking preseason four-man rush.

I counted 23 times Goff threw from a clean pocket.

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

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 18, 2022

If a defense gives any NFL QB that kind of platform (and time) to throw from, the results are as predictable as New Year's Day falling on January 1.

Outside of Jets' edge rushers Bryce Huff and Carl Lawson, the defense didn't generate much heat in the 38 degree New York weather.

Huff stood out, as he has all season, and deserves credit for looking better than any of the Jets' defensive linemen in this game. Lawson deserves an honorable mention.

Bottom line, the Jets' collective pass rush took an additional self-appointed bye week at the worst possible time.

Heading into the 2022 season, the lack of pass rush was a real problem and it had been a problem ever since team General Manager Joe Douglas was hired.

• 2019: No. 23
• 2020: No. 20
• 2021: No. 25

This season in 2022, that ranking has improved dramatically (No. 5), but nobody could really tell against the Lions.

Detroit's pass rush on the other hand showed they wanted it more and got to New York QB Zach Wilson four times.

Last season, New York and Detroit were fairly even. Both teams weren't good. Detroit finished 3-13. New York was 4-12. Detroit selected No. 2 overall in the first round and New York selected No. 4. Detroit selected edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, and New York took cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner.

While nobody can argue the selection of Gardner (who might win Defensive Rookie of the Year honors), nobody, not even Sauce can cover today's NFL receivers for one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four...

MORE:

• 'Gotta Be Better': Zach Wilson Evaluates His Performance in Loss to Lions
• Jets' Defense Falters, Allowing Game-Winning Touchdown in Crushing Loss to Lions
• Jets' Zach Wilson Says He's Ready For New Opportunity After 'Finding the Fun in Football'

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