In week two of the 2017 NFL Preseason, the Detroit Lions hosted the New York Jets in a cross conference showdown. Both teams entered the game with a record of 1-0-0 after successfully defeating their opponents in week one.
The Jets started off with the football and immediately ran into trouble with the Detroit defense. Two Bilal Powell runs for a total of three yards and a quarterback sack by Cornelius Washington for a loss of nine yards forced New York into punt formation on their first drive.
After forcing the Jets into a three-and-out, the Detroit offense stormed onto the field with Matthew Stafford under center. Stafford’s first throw would be an 18-yard completion to Golden Tate setting up another Lions first down. After an Abdullah six-yard run, a Matt Stafford 11 yard loss on a sack, and then an 11-yard completion to TJ Jones, they were forced to bring out the kicking team. Matt Prater came onto the field and successfully made a 37-yard field goal to give the Detroit Lions an early 3-0 lead.
The next few series were dominated by the defenses. Detroit’s defense forced two three-and-outs, while the Jets defense forced one of their own. On the next Lions drive, Stafford came out throwing. He led his team down the field while going 6/8 with 55 yards and a touchdown pass to Marvin Jones Jr., giving Detroit a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.
The Lions wouldn’t score again until late in the second quarter when Matt Prater made his second field goal of the night, this time from 25-yards away. They would then take a 13-0 lead into halftime.
New York forced Detroit to punt, but after a muff by Frankie Hammond of the Jets, Robert Tonyan Jr. of the Lions recovered the ball. After the turnover, Detroit was setup with good field position, that is until quarterback Jake Rudock would throw an interception, giving the ball to the Jets.
On the New York’s ensuing drive, they would go six plays for 21 yards setting up a 56-yard field goal Ross Martin, who eventually missed the kick. The Lions and the Jets then went back-and-forth forcing the other team to punt the ball.
After another punt by the Lions, New York took over at their own eight-yard line and drove 79-yards on 12 plays to finally put some points on the board with a Ross Martin 31-yard field goal, making the score 13-3.
The Lions next series was a bust, forcing them to punt and give the Jets an opportunity to score again, which they did. After five plays, 43-yards, and another Ross Martin field goal (28-yards this time), the Jets cut the Lions lead to 13-6.
On the kickoff, Detroit would get a great 43-yard return from Keyshawn Martin which set them up in good field position. Brad Kaaya and the Lions offense then went 30-yards on seven plays to put Matt Prater in position to make another field goal, which he did. Prater came out and nailed a 50-yard field goal to essentially seal the win for Detroit and increase the score to 16-6.
On New York’s final drive of the game, quarterback Bryce Petty drove the team 50-yards down the field but eventually threw the game-ending interception to Rolan Milligan. Detroit came out for one play to take a knee and end the game, giving them a 16-6 win and a (2-0-0) preseason record.
Matthew Stafford finished the game 8/10 for 84-yards and a passing touchdown, and Marvin Jones Jr. led the receiving core with four receptions for 34-yards and a touchdown. Detroit hosts the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots in the next preseason game on Friday, August 25, 2017.
