Lions' Izien: Jets Should Not Have Scored 24 Points in Detroit's 31-24 Win

After Detroit edged the New York Jets 31-24 at Ford Field to reach 2-1, Christian Izien said the 24 points allowed were far too many and set 17 as the bar for an elite defense.

The Detroit Lions moved to 2-1 on Sunday with a 31-24 victory over the New York Jets at Ford Field. A late defensive turnover settled a game the Lions nearly let get away, one week after a difficult defensive day in Buffalo.

Christian Izien, a defensive back, made clear the scoreline still bothered him. "We can't give up those last two touchdowns," he said afterward. He allowed that there were "some questionable calls, I think, for sure," but said the group still had to improve, adding: "I don't think we should give up 24 points to the outfit over there. They're a good team, but I don't think we should give 24 points to them. We'll clean it up for sure."

Izien also put a number on what he considers acceptable. "I think, honestly, 17 points is like an elite defense," he said. "So, we've just got to keep them under that. But this team shouldn't have scored that many points on us. So, we know that."

The benchmark is a demanding one for a unit that has struggled through three weeks. Detroit allowed 41 points and 446 total yards in its Week 2 road loss at Buffalo, and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard had already flagged explosive plays as the primary concern before the Jets came to town. Entering the weekend, the defense sat near the bottom of the league in a number of key statistical categories.

The secondary was also shorthanded. Head coach Dan Campbell had acknowledged coverage issues following the Buffalo defeat, and Detroit played Sunday without injured starters Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Izien was among those counted on for a heavier workload, and he spent much of the afternoon operating near the line of scrimmage. Describing his approach on one screen play, he said: "I had the mindset of just destroy anything that was in my way at that point."

New York, coached by Aaron Glenn, tested the Lions for four quarters. The Jets wiped out a 24-10 deficit with a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull even, and Geno Smith finished with 326 passing yards. Garrett Wilson and Kenyon Sadiq both cleared 100 receiving yards.

Detroit had the final answer. Jared Goff found Jahmyr Gibbs for a touchdown that made it 31-24 with 2:30 on the clock, handing the Jets one last possession. Sheppard called for pressure, Chuck Clark got in to sack the quarterback and knock the ball loose, and Jack Campbell recovered the fumble to end it.

Izien said the defense had rehearsed that exact closing scenario during the week and knew New York had scouted it as well. "We knew they knew it was coming," he said. "So we had to beat them to the punch, and we did that for sure."

The final stop supplied the kind of game-ending play Detroit had been missing. By Izien's reckoning, though, the Lions should have settled matters long before that play was ever required.