Two out of seven NFL experts picked the New York Jets to upset the Detroit Lions.
The New York Jets face the Detroit Lions in Week 3 in what will be Aaron Glenn's first trip back to Detroit since leaving the franchise for New York.
The Jets are 6.5-point underdogs against the Lions, but two out of seven NFL experts from Bleacher Report picked New York to upset Detroit.
Wes O'Donnell and Brent Sobleski believe the Jets will beat the Lions in Detroit to improve to 2-1 in Year 2 of the Glenn era.
"The Lions need to get right, but Jets coach Aaron Glenn knows the Lions pretty gorydamn well," O'Donnell wrote. "New York has punched above its weight two weeks into the season, and this game is ripe for Detroit to make a statement — if it is any sort of legitimate playoff team, which remains to be seen — but I will not ignore an embattled coach returning to his former team and rallying a strong effort. A 6.5 spread is too big a number for me to lay down right now. Jets cover in either a hard-fought game or silly circumstance."
Through two games, the Jets are averaging 20.0 points per game and giving up 15.0 points per game.
Meanwhile, the Lions are averaging 31.0 points per game and giving up 35.5 points per contest.
As you can see, the Jets have an average offense and a strong defense, while the Lions have an excellent offense and a putrid defense (thus far).
Week 3 presents New York's offense, led by quarterback Geno Smith, with a great chance to score a lot of points.
Smith has started his second stint with the Jets with 462 passing yards, one passing touchdown and zero interceptions. He's completing 70.8% of his passes.
It's only two games, but significantly, Smith hasn't thrown an interception yet. After all, the West Virginia product led the NFL with 17 interceptions last season with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Smith's best seasons in the NFL came with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022 and 2023. He made the Pro Bowl in 2022 and 2023 and won the 2022 AP Comeback Player of the Year Award.
Smith entered this season with 22,168 passing yards, 124 passing touchdowns and 89 career interceptions in the NFL. Heading into the Jets' Week 3 matchup against the Lions, Smith has a starting record of 43-57-0.
Smith has thrown six touchdowns and two interceptions in four career games against the Lions. He has 1,252 passing yards and a 2-2 record.
Glenn was the Lions' defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2024. He knows Detroit QB Jared Goff's strengths and weaknesses pretty well, so it will be fascinating to see if New York's defense can finally record an interception.
Last season, the Jets became the first team in NFL history to go an entire season without an interception. The NFL has tracked interceptions as an official statistic since 1933.
Before this, no team had recorded fewer than two interceptions in a single season (a mark previously held by the 2018 San Francisco 49ers).
Goff has six touchdown passes and zero interceptions on the season. Let's see if Glenn's defense can rattle him in Week 3.
