New York Jets: Game-by-game predictions for 2018
Week 1: at Detroit Lions
It’s time for the Jets to get creative on defense. Sam Darnold will make his NFL debut, and it will be a solid one, but not one where we can put his name on the NFL map and dub him the next big thing at the position.
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Todd Bowles and Kacy Rodgers (mostly Rodgers) will have to dial up some blitzes from different spots to confuse Matthew Stafford, and they will.
Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye, Darron Lee, Jordan Jenkins, and even rookie corner Parry Nickerson will be involved in some blitzes. There will be some balls hitting the turf on deflections at the line, pass deflections by defensive backs, and even two turnovers by the Lions.
In the end, it’ll be a good start for the Darnold era in New York, because he won’t have to do much. The running game will be the story of the offense, as Bilal Powell and Isaiah Crowell will expose the Lions run defense as not much improved over the 22nd ranked run defense (according to Pro Football Focus) from 2017.
The Jets will fly into Detroit and serve the league notice. This team isn’t to be taken lightly by anyone.
Final Score
Jets 31, Lions 14