5 things to watch as Jets face Lions in Week 15, including the return for Zach Wilson

With four games remaining in the 2022 season, the Jets are still in playoff contention. However, they need to take care of business at home over the next two weeks to ensure they can control their own destiny in the final two games. Their opponent on Sunday, the Detroit Lions, has established themselves as a tough opponent in recent weeks.

Another wrinkle added Friday: Zach Wilson will start for Gang Green after Mike White wasn't cleared for contact.

Here are some of the biggest stories to watch as the Jets look to get back to winning ways:

Can the Jets slow down the Lions’ momentum?

A few months ago, the Detroit game was looking like one of the easier ones on the Jets’ late-season schedule. The Lions began the season 1-6 and many expected them to once again be in late-season tanking and consolidation mode once again.

However, they’ve been rolling over the last several weeks, winning five out of six to improve to 6-7 and give themselves an outside shot at a wild card berth. Over the course of the season, in fact, five of Detroit’s seven losses were by four points or less, so they’re nearly always a tough team to beat.

The Jets, on the other hand, have lost two in a row for the first time all season and three out of four since the bye. They need to reverse these trends on Sunday.

Who will win the turnover battle?

The Jets need to look after the ball better than they did in the loss to the Bills, where Michael Carter and Joe Flacco each lost a crucial fumble. Detroit has forced at least one turnover in every game since the season opener.

The Jets have forced just one turnover in four games since the bye week, going without one in each of their three post-bye losses. They also still rank last in defensive fumble recovery rate, having only recovered three all season and none since week six.

How will the Lions fare against a top-level pass defense?

The Lions have had some impressive offensive performances this season, scoring over 30 points four times in the last five games and seven times overall. Prior to that, though, they had scored 15 points or fewer in three of the previous four games.

It’s a good sign for the Jets, who boast the league’s fourth-best pass defense in terms of total yardage allowed. The only two top-10 pass defenses the Lions have faced since the bye week (Dallas and Green Bay) held them to six and 15 points, respectively. They’ve scored 25 or more in every other game since the bye.

Can the Jets slow down the Lions’ running attack?

Jamaal Williams is arguably one of the league’s most consistent running backs. He has just one 100-yard rushing game all season and yet has still racked up over 800 rushing yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns on the ground.

Could Williams be breaking down as the season goes on, though? He had fewer than 50 yards in each of the last two games having previously achieved this mark in each of the preceding 10 games. Until Week 8, he had been averaging 4.2 yards per carry, but is down to 3.3 since then. He also hasn’t caught a single pass since then.

The No. 2 back, D’Andre Swift, is more productive in the passing game, but he has also seen his rushing numbers fall off as he averaged 6.8 yards per carry up to Week 8 but only 3.6 per carry since that time. The Jets will look to limit the running game production to force the Lions into passing situations.

Will the returning Zach Wilson be able to successfully attack the Lions through the air?

Detroit’s main weakness is probably its pass defense, which currently ranks third worst in the NFL. Jeff Okudah is a good cornerback, but they are otherwise thin at this position and Mike LaFleur will hope to be able to exploit this.

Mike Hughes, who usually operates in the slot and Amani Oruwariye, who plays on the outside, have each given up four touchdown catches in coverage this season. Oruwariye has also been flagged for a team-high nine defensive penalties.

Wilson, who was benched for the last three games, will need to play better than he did in the lead-up to his benching if the Jets are to take control of this game at home.