Detroit Lions keep NFL playoff hopes alive with 20-17 win over Jets
East Rutherford, NJ — Jared Goff and Brock Wright teamed up to save the season, just when it looked like a 54-yard field goal might do the Detroit Lions again.
Goff threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Wright with 1:49 to play on Sunday as the Lions rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the New York Jets, 20-17, at MetLife Stadium.
The Lions (7-7) have won three straight and six of their past seven games to move within one game of the last wild card of the NFC playoffs. The Lions have three games left against teams with a sub-. 500 record: at the Carolina Panthers next week, at home against the Chicago Bears in Week 17 and at the Green Bay Packers to close out the regular season.
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They have a 42% chance of making the playoffs as of Sunday afternoon, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. The Washington Commanders and New York Giants are both 7-5-1 and hold the sixth and seventh spots in the NFC. They play Sunday Night Football in Washington. Seattle is eighth at 7-7, and owns the tiebreaker over the Lions due to a 48-45 win in Week 4 in Detroit.
The Lions dominated play for much of Sunday, holding the Jets (7-7) to three first downs on their first four possessions in the second half, but giving New York a choppy offensive life with a risky field goal try with less than 8 minutes to play. .
Michael Badgley left his 54-yard attempt short, and the Jets began gaining possession at their own 44-yard line.
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Zach Wilson, in his first start since being benched after a 77-yard day in a Week 11 loss to the New England Patriots, completed a 33-yard pass to Jarrett Wilson on the second play of the series, then threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to CJ Uzomah with 4:41 to play.
The goal kick decision is reminiscent of one Lions coach Dan Campbell attempted in a Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Austin Seibert missed that attempt, and the Vikings scored the winning touchdown three times later with 45 seconds left in the game.
On Sunday, the Lions responded to the Jets rally on their own.
Wright dropped a pass on the first play of the drive, but the Lions returned to him on fourth-and-one from their own 49-yard line on the first play after the two-minute warning.
Wright, who took over as the Lions’ No. 1 tight end after the TJ Hockenson trade, faked a block from the right side of the line of scrimmage and leaked through the middle of the field as the Jets defense followed a fake play procedure the other way.
Goff threw a wide open Wright, who sprinted down the sideline into the end zone, adding to offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s stellar resume.
The Jets had a chance to score the game after Wilson made two sacks to complete a 20-yard pass to Garrett Wilson with one second on the clock, but Greg Zuerlein missed his 58-yard kick attempt on a touchdown run.
Goff finished 23 of 38 passes for 252 yards for the Lions, who got two field goals from Badgley and a 47-yard catch from Kalif Raymond for a 13–10 lead going into the fourth quarter.
A Raymond touchdown, the Lions’ first kickoff return score since 2020, came after the Lions were stopped at their own 1-yard line on their opening series, then forced the Jets to punt out of the end zone.
18-year-old Zack Wilson was a 35-year-old with two touchdowns and one interception for the Jets, who managed to rush for just 50 yards on 22 carries.
Wilson’s interception to Lions’ quarterback Jerry Jacobs on the opening drive of the second half led to Badgley’s second field goal.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tweet
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