DETROIT — The Jets are interesting.
They’re fun to watch.
The Jets are better.
On this day, though, they just weren’t good enough.
The Jets fought the favored Lions from the back foot all game, but came up short in a riveting 31-24 loss Sunday at Ford Field.
They tied the game on a dynamic series of events that began with their defense stuffing the Lions on a fourth-down try at midfield with 8:32 remaining.
The Jets, trailing 24-16, took the ball over at their own 46 with a chance to tie, and that’s what they did.
On fourth-and-6 from the Detroit 23-yard line, Geno Smith connected with Garrett Wilson for a TD with 4:06 remaining.
Smith then hit former Giants receiver Sterling Shepard, who was activated from the practice squad for the game, on a two-point conversion.
The Lions, though, quickly regained the lead, 31-24, on an 11-yard Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown reception with 2:25 remaining.
It was Gibbs’ third score of the game.
The Jets, who fell to 1-2, threatened to tie it again, moving the ball to the Detroit 28-yard line, but the Lions ended it with a sack and forced fumble by a blitzing Chuck Clark, a former Jet.
The ball was recovered by Alim McNeill with 42 seconds remaining to seal the game.
But the Jets answered with a 4-yard Smith scoring pass to tight end Jeremy Ruckert with 11:17 remaining in the game.
After the Jets failed on a two-point conversion try, they trailed 24-16.
The drive was highlighted by two big plays — a 21-yard Smith completion to Isaiah Williams on third-and-7 and, on the next play, a 43-yard pass play to rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
The Lions went for the hammer on their next possession, going for a fourth-and-2 from the Jets 46 and Gibbs was stuffed by Kingsley Enegbare.
So, with 8:32 remaining, the Jets had the ball at their 46 with a chance to tie the game. The Lions took a 3-0 lead on a 30-yard Jake Bates field goal with 9:35 remaining in the first half.
That came after a stout red-zone stop by Jets cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr., who broke up a Jared Goff pass to his top receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on a third-and-8.
The Jets answered with a Smith 24-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq, who beat Detroit corner Roger McCreary on a diving catch in the end zone with 5:33 remaining in the half.
That capped a 74-yard drive on seven plays, a drive highlighted by Smith completions to Breece Hall, 12 yards on third-and-6, then 16 yards to Ruckert and 20 yards to tight end Jelani Woods, his first offensive touch of the season.
The Lions took a 10-7 halftime lead on a 4-yard scoring pass from Goff to St. Brown, who beat Jets cornerback Azareye’h Thomas on a perfectly executed fade in the right corner of the end zone at 1:36 before halftime.
That score was made possible by Campbell going for a fourth-and-2 from the Jets 9-yard line, Goff connecting with Isaac TeSlaa over the middle.
The Jets had a chance to put late points on the board, moving the ball to the Detroit 43-yard line before committing their first two penalties of the game to go backwards.
First, a 9-yard Smith completion to Braelon Allen to the Lions 32 was nullified by a holding penalty on left guard Dylan Parham.
Then, rookie receiver Malik McClain, making his NFL debut, was called for offensive pass interference. That essentially ended the Jets’ chances of putting themselves in position to kick a game-tying field goal.
The Lions took the opening drive of the second half and extended their lead to 17-7 on a 17-yard scoring run by running back Jahmyr Gibbs just 4:14 into the third quarter.
The Jets defense looked like it had Gibbs sealed off on the right side before he quickly reversed field and went left, leaving Darrell Jackson Jr., Kingsley Enegbare and Joseph Ossai in the dust as he scampered into the end zone.
The Jets cut the lead to 17-10 on a 42-yard field goal by Jason Sanders on the ensuing series, with 6:22 remaining in the third quarter.
That was a disappointing three points they settled for, though, because they got the ball to the Detroit 7-yard line before Smith was sacked for losses of eight and nine yards on consecutive plays.
