After being shut out by the Green Bay Packers 9-0 last week, it wouldn’t be surprising if the New York Jets felt they needed some help offensively.
Contrary to reports, however, it won’t be coming from Randy Moss.
While New York sports talks show buzzed with the word that Moss had met with the team earlier in the week, the Jets vehemently denied the two sides had talked and added they had no interest in the recently released wide receiver.
So, quarterback Mark Sanchez will have his usual suspects on offense as New York visits Detroit on Sunday. The Lions beat the Washington Redskins last week.
New York had its five-game winning streak snapped by the Packers. While Sanchez struggled with two interceptions last week, completing just 16 of 38 passes, he has been solid this season and needs just 200 yards passing Sunday to reach 4,000 for his career.
The former USC quarterback does have targets. Tight end Dustin Keller leads the team in receptions (26) and Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes give the Jets both inside and outside threats at wide receiver.
LaDainian Tomlinson gained just 56 yards against the Packers last week, but has had a revival in New York by rushing for over 500 yards in his first seven games. He also remains a receiving threat out of the backfield.
The Jets still bank on its defense, ranked second in the NFL in scoring. New York limited Green Bay to just 237 yards last week, but their offensive stars, who called their effort inexcusable, could not mount a scoring drive.
Holmes was one of the culprits as Jet receivers dropped five balls and the offense had six penalties on 13 possessions.
The Jets (5-2) also either failed to convert a fake punt or botched the play entirely early in the game (depending on who you listen to) and the Packers took over deep in New York territory to set up a field goal.
It was a forgettable experience for New York.
The Lions, however, enjoyed last week’s seesaw contest against the Redskins when first-round pick Ndamukong Suh sealed the 37-25 win with a 17-yard fumble return late in the contest. Suh added a career-high two sacks in the game.
Detroit (2-5) has been much improved on the season. The Lions got 212 yards passing and four touchdowns from Matthew Stafford in his first start since injuring his shoulder in Week 1.
Calvin Johnson caught three of the scores and has been sizzling with seven touchdowns in his past four games. Running back Jahvid Best leads NFL rookies with 613 yards from scrimmage and is tied for the NFL lead among rookies with five total touchdowns.
With Stafford back, both teams are healthy. New York has won the past two meetings between the two teams, but they have not played since 2006.