Jets rookie David Bailey had been waiting on a breakout game, and it came in a downpour at MetLife Stadium. The No. 2 overall pick sacked Deshaun Watson three times in Sunday’s 17-12 win over Cleveland. On Wednesday he was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Bailey also had seven tackles, three tackles for loss and four quarterback hits, all season highs. The Jets sacked Watson eight times, a season high and tied for the most by a Jets defense in a game this century. They held Cleveland to 198 total yards and ended a three-game losing streak. Bailey’s three sacks were one short of the franchise single-game record.
How the three sacks happened
The first came early, with the Jets up 7-0: Watson juggled a shotgun snap and Bailey swooped in for a six-yard loss. The second came on third down, when Bailey sped off the edge to force a punt. The third came early in the fourth quarter on third-and-30. It was his quickest of the day, reaching Watson about three seconds after the snap.
“Listen, I’ve said it all along that, man, his time is going to come,” Aaron Glenn said after the game. “I have all the confidence in him in the world.” The coach added that there were still “some things that he’s got to work on.” Asked what stood out on film, Glenn pointed to Bailey’s “ability to bend the edge, his ability to dip, lean, use power.”
Where he stands after five games
Bailey has five sacks and 25 tackles through five games. The Jets say he is only the fifth player since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to reach five sacks in his first five career games. League tracking data credit him with 26 pressures and nine quick pressures, the most of any rookie pass rusher in both.
The Jets (2-3) visit New England at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, October 18, at 1 p.m. EDT. Breece Hall (quad), Adonai Mitchell (finger), Joseph Ossai (ankle) and Dylan Parham (knee) did not practice Wednesday, and Glenn called all four week-to-week.
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