The New York Jets had little to celebrate in Sunday’s 35-12 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but David Bailey gave them a jolt the defense badly needed.
Back in the lineup after missing Week 8 with a groin injury, the No. 2 overall pick wasted no time making his presence felt. Bailey tied for the team lead with nine tackles and added two sacks, three tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. He also forced two fumbles on the same drive, a rare burst of disruption in a game Kansas City controlled.
That kind of impact is why Bailey’s start to the season has drawn so much attention. Through his first eight games, he has 7.5 career sacks, the most by any rookie edge rusher since Hall of Famer Julius Peppers, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini. Peppers had nine sacks in his first eight games with the Carolina Panthers.
After some early questions about whether the highest-drafted defender in franchise history was affecting games enough, the 23-year-old has started to answer them. His three-sack performance in Week 5 marked the turning point, and Sunday’s return only added to the momentum.
The Jets still left Sunday with another loss, but Bailey’s performance stood out as one of the few bright spots. His presence changed the look of the pass rush, especially compared with what New York showed the previous week against the Raiders.
Patrick Mahomes felt it, too. Bailey accounted for six pressures in the first half alone, and he became the first defender in the last 10 years to record two sacks and two forced fumbles on the same drive.
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Geno Smiths Sideline Frustration Says Everything About These Jets
Geno Smith spent much of Sunday under siege, and the Jets spent much of the afternoon trying to keep pace with Kansas City before the offense went quiet after halftime. New York went into the break down 14-12, still within striking distance, but the second half brought no points and little margin for error as the Chiefs pulled away from a game that had been hanging in the balance.
The bigger concern for the Jets is how familiar this looked. Smith was sacked five times, pushing his season total to 28, second-most in the NFL, and the protection issues have become impossible to ignore as the losses pile up. At 2-7, New York now turns to Buffalo with more questions than answers, and the frustration on the sideline felt like a snapshot of where this season stands. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Face A Will McDonald Decision That Could Spark Debate
Will McDonald IVs role has shrunk this season in the Jets defensive scheme, and that alone has added a little intrigue to a position group that has already dealt with injuries. Even with the pass-rush depth chart thinned out, the team has not treated McDonald like an untouchable piece, and The Athletics Zack Rosenblatt reported that the possibility of a trade is at least on the table as the season moves toward the deadline.
Still, the Jets do not appear eager to make a move unless the return is substantial, especially with draft capital already in decent supply and depth concerns lingering on the edge. For now, the more realistic path seems to be standing pat on defense and looking elsewhere if the front office decides to get aggressive, which leaves McDonalds status as one of the more interesting roster questions hanging over the next few weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Face A Geno Smith Decision That Could Derail The Offense
With the NFL trade deadline approaching, there is growing chatter around whether the Jets would even consider moving Geno Smith, a possibility that would ripple well beyond the quarterback room. The speculation has centered on the idea that another team could come calling with draft capital, but for a Jets offense still trying to find its footing, the timing would be hard to justify.
Smith has given the group a steadier presence, and his influence has been especially important for a young crop of pass catchers still learning on the fly. For a team trying to build something sustainable on offense, dealing away the quarterback now would risk slowing the development of players such as Omar Cooper Jr., Kenyon Sadiq, Mason Taylor and Adonai Mitchell, which is why the debate feels less like a simple transaction and more like a decision with long-term consequences. [Read more 🡒]