Michigan

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Unlike Comerica Park on Sunday afternoon, the only carbonation flowing freely in the Lions' locker room was the bubbly effervescence of wide-eyed youth. A day of firsts for Eric Ebron and Darius Slay. Ebron's first touchdown reception. Slay's first interception.

"I feel like I've got the ball in my hand still," Slay said excitedly, talking even faster than he was breathing. "In my mind, I've already had seven touchdowns with that interception. They're getting the ball ready for me, cleaning it up a little before I get it back. I might have to sleep with it that first night."

Nobody was happier for Slay than his veteran partner on the corner, Rashean Mathis. But he also had some sage advice for the second-year player: Cherish the moment. Then, chuck it.

Don't live too long in the present. Concentrate on creating the next moment. And then the next. And then the next.

That's an important lesson Mathis could teach every Lion of every age.

They're 3-1 following a 24-17 victory over the New York Jets. Their offensive and defensive crispness in a challenging road environment will undoubtedly do what their uninspired effort at Charlotte two weeks ago did: Send those desperate for an instant evaluation of the Lions on yet another 180-degree emotional shift.

"This is just the end of the first quarter," Mathis said. "That's all. We all know this is a long season."

Finally, a voice of reason amid the adrenaline rush of another fast start to a Lions' season.

"Now, don't get me wrong," coach Jim Caldwell said. "This was a heck of a game for us. Guys played well. But I don't think it's as well as we can play. I really don't. But the nice thing about it I like is the fact that we've got so many guys that can kind of step in and play roles.

"I think most people, if you were looking at us from the outside in, you'd talk about our weaknesses. But our weaknesses ended up being strengths for us, which I certainly have to attribute to the young guys."

Ebron stepped up with Calvin Johnson hobbled with a bad ankle. Johnson played but was basically a high-paid decoy. It was apparent that he wasn't anywhere close to 100%, but Johnson kidded reporters afterward that it was a stretch suggesting that he was even 90%.

Matthew Stafford found Ebron in the deep middle of the end zone with 22 seconds remaining before halftime. The ball was thrown behind Ebron and he twisted his body to catch it, finally offering some evidence as to why they invested the 10th overall pick in him last May.

"It's a blessing," Ebron said of his first touchdown. "Obviously, it was meant to happen. It was meant to be. I couldn't ask for anything more. I couldn't ask for a better throw or a better play call."

Road wins in the NFL aren't taken lightly. They come too rarely. These weren't the explosive Lions as earlier advertised, but rather a fundamentally sound team happily content with reducing mistakes and running out the clock with a fourth-quarter lead. It's certainly more exhilarating winning road games with wild offensively charged comebacks. But nobody's come up with a better formula than what the Lions employed against the Jets — no turnovers, few penalties and moving the chains with a fourth-quarter lead.

The hype will follow after this win because that's what Detroit does with this football team. But the stronger tests for a top-ranked defense will come when they actually face good quarterbacks on the road and not the dumpster fire that was the Jets' Geno Smith.

Caldwell wants an emotional equilibrium during both the highs and lows.

"He tells us all the time to 'close your ears to the outside world,' " Mathis added. "We know it's your media job to write good and bad things about us. There's a lot of good to be said right now. But this is just the first quarter. We've won the first quarter. That's how we view it."

It's the right attitude for an organization hoping once again that it's finally found the right direction.

Contact Drew Sharp: dsharp@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewsharp.

Up next for the Lions

Matchup: Buffalo (2-2) at Detroit (3-1).

When: 1 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Ford Field, Detroit.

TV: Fox

Scouting report: The Bills, led by second-year QB EJ Manuel, couldn't pull off an upset in Houston, losing 23-17.

Three's the magic (and tragic) number

Only one Lions coach in the past 30 seasons has gotten to three wins with the Lions faster than Jim Caldwell. Those nine coaches and how many games it took them to get three victories:

1985-88

Darryl Rogers: 4

First season W-L: 7-9

1988-96

Wayne Fontes: 11

First season W-L: 2-3

1997-00

Bobby Ross: 5

First season W-L: 9-7

2000

Gary Moeller: 3

First season W-L: 4-3.

2001-02

Marty Mornhinweg: 20

First season W-L: 2-14.

2003-05

Steve Mariucci: 9

First season W-L: 5-11.

2006-08

Rod Marinelli: 16

First season W-L: 3-13.

2009-13

Jim Schwartz: 21

First season W-L: 2-14.

2014

Jim Caldwell: 4

First season W-L: ?

Change of focus

Sunday was just the third time since the Lions drafted Calvin Johnson in 2007 — and the first time since the start of the 2011 season —that a non-Megatron Lion has had at least eight catches and 115 receiving yards in a game. (Johnson's done it 14 times in that span.) The three:

Sept. 23, 2007

Roy Williams

Williams torched the Eagles for nine catches, 204 yards and a touchdown, but the Eagles had the last laugh in Johnson's rookie year: They thumped the Lions in Philly, 56-21.

Sept. 19, 2010

Jahvid Best

The speedy RB's second career game was his best as a Lion: nine catches for 154 yards, plus another 17 rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns against the Eagles.

Sunday

Golden Tate

Tate, the Lions' big off-season signing, never made it to the end zone against the Jets, but he did have eight catches for 116 yards, six catches and 104 yards more than CJ.