Lions vs. Jets: Jahmyr Gibbs Scores 3 TDs and Chuck Clark's Strip-Sack Seals a 31-24 Week 3 Win

Barry Sanders was in the building on Sunday, which is a dangerous thing to tell Jahmyr Gibbs. Some players get nervous when a legend watches. Gibbs treated it like an open audition and booked the lead role.

Gibbs scored three touchdowns, the last on an 11-yard catch with 2:25 left, and safety Chuck Clark's blitzing strip-sack of Geno Smith snuffed out the New York Jets as the Detroit Lions held on for a 31-24 win at Ford Field. Detroit is 2-1 and perfect at home. The Jets are 1-2 and, for the second straight week, stuck replaying a fourth quarter that got away.

"Anytime he's here, I've got to step up my game," Gibbs said of Sanders.

A Slow Start, a Shootout Finish

The first quarter was scoreless, punt-heavy chess. Jets coach Aaron Glenn ran Detroit's defense from 2021 through 2024 under Dan Campbell, and early on it looked like he still had the answer key. Jake Bates finally broke the seal with a 30-yard field goal after the Lions fed Gibbs on the opening drive of the second quarter.

New York woke up immediately. Smith completed four straight passes for 72 yards, and rookie Kenyon Sadiq laid out in tight coverage for a 24-yard touchdown and a 7-3 Jets lead. Detroit answered with a 12-play march that featured a fourth-and-2 conversion to Isaac TeSlaa at the New York 9, then Jared Goff dropped a 4-yard touchdown onto Amon-Ra St. Brown's back shoulder. Lions 10-7 at the half.

Then Gibbs took over. On the first drive of the third quarter, he caught a toss heading right, slammed the brakes, doubled back across the field and beat everybody to the left side of the end zone for a 17-yard score. His quarterback threw a block on the way, and wanted credit for it.

"He wouldn't have gotten in if I didn't block for him," Goff joked.

After a Jason Sanders field goal, Detroit ground out an 11-play, 62-yard drive that ate 6:25, and Gibbs plunged in from the 1 on the first snap of the fourth quarter. The Lions even had defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard report eligible and motion out to block the edge on the play. It was 24-10, and the game looked over. It wasn't.

Smith went 80 yards in nine plays and hit Jeremy Ruckert for a 4-yard touchdown. The two-point try failed, but after Detroit came up empty on a fourth down, Smith marched the Jets 54 yards and found Garrett Wilson for a 23-yard score. A two-point pass to Sterling Shepard tied it at 24 with 4:06 left.

The Turning Point: Two Drives, Two Haymakers

Detroit needed four plays and 1:41 to retake the lead. TeSlaa, who had seen only two targets in the first two games, according to the Lions, ripped off a 49-yard catch to put Detroit in the red zone. Gibbs did the rest from 11 yards out. The AP counted two blown Jets coverages on the march, which is two more than anyone can afford against this offense.

The Jets still had life. Smith moved them to the Detroit 28 with under a minute left. On second-and-10, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard sent Clark on a safety blitz, nobody blocked him, and Clark smashed Smith and knocked the ball loose. Jack Campbell scooped it up. Two kneel-downs later, the Lions were 2-1.

Key Performances

Jahmyr Gibbs: 20 carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns, seven catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, 164 scrimmage yards in all. According to the AP, he's the first player in NFL history with at least 300 yards, four rushing touchdowns, 150 receiving yards and two touchdown catches through three games. The Lions say he joins Billy Sims as the only players in franchise history with 100-plus scrimmage yards and a touchdown in each of a season's first three games.

"Gibbs hit another gear once we got him going in the second half," Campbell said.

Jared Goff: 25 of 32 for 269 yards, two touchdowns, no turnovers and a 122.5 rating. He has now thrown a touchdown pass in 26 straight games, and St. Brown has caught one in all three games this season.

Chuck Clark and Christian Izien: Clark made the play of the game. Izien, making his first start at safety, posted 11 tackles, three for loss.

For New York, Smith was surgical until he wasn't: 31 of 37 for 321 yards, three touchdowns and no picks, but also five sacks absorbed and the fatal fumble. Wilson caught 10 passes for 107 yards and a score before being evaluated for a head injury and missing the final snap, and Sadiq had seven grabs for 105 yards.

Stats That Matter

• 131: Detroit's rushing yards against a Jets defense that entered the day No. 1 in the NFL against the run, allowing 65.5 per game, per the Lions.
• 31: Points for the Lions for the third straight week.
• 5: Sacks of Smith. The last one decided the game.
• 26: Consecutive games with a Goff touchdown pass.

What It Means: Detroit Steadies, New York Stews

The Lions opened with a 31-30 overtime escape against New Orleans and then got handled 41-31 in Buffalo, a loss after which Goff admitted he could feel the vultures circling. This win won't silence everyone, especially with a secondary that let Smith go 31 of 37, but the run game is back and the defense delivered a closing stop. Detroit heads to Carolina next Sunday night.

For the Jets, this one stings in a familiar spot. A week after blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and losing 20-17 in overtime to Green Bay, they erased a 14-point fourth-quarter hole only to lose anyway. Glenn sounded like a coach who believes the breakthrough is close.

"We're fighting to close that gap and we will," Glenn said. "We'll be on the other side of these games. I truly believe that."

Smith agreed with the diagnosis, if not the timeline.

"We have a lot of real good players," Smith said. "We've just got to finish games."

New York visits Chicago next, with Breece Hall's thigh injury from this game another thing to monitor.

Closing Take: The Sliders Are Maxed Out

Gibbs is playing like somebody cranked every slider in Madden to 99 and forgot to turn them back down. He's a home-run threat on the ground, a matchup nightmare out of the backfield and, apparently, extra dangerous with a Hall of Famer in the building.

"He's so explosive and nifty with the ball in his hands," Goff said.

Barry Sanders saw the whole thing. Hard to imagine a better review.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press. Additional notes from DetroitLions.com.