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What a difference DE/OLB Kingsley Enagbare makes at defensive end for this Jets front!
He’s not a sack machine, but he is a smart, fundamentally sound, assignment-sound player who consistently makes plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet but lead to stats for others.
He is the best run defender on their defensive line, so it should come as no surprise they gave up 232 yards rushing with Engagbare out of the lineup against Chicago.
The Jets free agent class added before this season included a number who weren’t necessarily stars, but a bunch of solid players with great intangibles and good football character, like Enagbare, Joseph Ossai, Demario Davis, and Tim Patrick who play the game the right way (with top-shelf toughness) and are great influences on young players on and off the field.
A term you often hear to describe players like this is “glue guys.” . . .
You often hear the saying, “The NFL is a weak-to-weak league.”
Players, coaches, and teams can go from the penthouse to the outhouse very quickly.
So while the Jets defense played very well against Cleveland, you know what is coming from me: “Let’s not put them in Canton just yet, fellas.”
It was a perfect storm for their defense on Sunday – driving rain, an indecisive QB who does not play well in the rain, a revamped offensive line, starting two rookies, and that lost their veteran right tackle during the game.
Aaron Glenn and Brian Duker did a great job of dialing up creative blitzes to take advantage of this perfect storm, no pun intended.
DE/OLB David Bailey had a breakout game, with three sacks, but on one sack he was not blocked because the starting right tackle, Tytus Howard, before he left the game with an injury, picked up a blitzing Jarvis Brownlee in the B-Gap, and Bailey was free to sack Watson.
Another sack came against backup right tackle, Dewand Jones, a 6-8, 374 tackle, who Bailey dipped under to take the edge. A third sack came when Watson dropped a snap, and the QB had to move up in the pocket to grab the ball; the left tackle had no idea the QB had moved up, and Bailey got the sack.
Bailey had a couple of more QB pressures on Jones.
Look, hat-tip to Bailey for having his best game as a pro by far, but let’s see what he does next week in New England against tackles Morgan Moses and/or one of their first-round left tackles – Will Campbell or Caleb Lomu. Campbell hurt his knee in the Patriots win over Las Vegas on Sunday, and it’s unclear whether he will suit up for the Jets game on Sunday.
Bailey should dominate a backup right tackle like Jones, who has a very high pad level and is probably carrying too much weight, which impacts his foot quickness.
Let’s see if Bailey can carry that forward against better offensive tackles . . .
You gotta give a lot of credit to TE Mason Taylor for the way he played on Sunday.
As we pointed out last week, while he was returning to the lineup after missing two games with a thumb injury, he still had to wear a small brace or wrap on it, which has to create a challenge for blocking and receiving.
But Taylor did some good things as both a blocker and receiver.
Late in the first half, on 3rd-and-7, Geno Smith hit Taylor on a crossing route for a 9-yard gain. It was not an easy catch, considering it was pouring out and he was wearing a brace. He finished the game with three catches.
On the same series, Taylor had a key block on an 11-yard run by Braelon Allen off left tackle, taking out safety Ronnie Hickman on the second level.
In the middle of the third quarter, you probably remember the 18-yard run by Allen, where he broke a tackle on the line and then bounced it outside. Well, a key to having space to run off right tackle when he took it outside was Taylor mauling defensive end Sam Williams, setting a clean edge for the runner to take off.
Solid game with an injured thumb; that is better than it was, but it is still not 100 percent.
October 12, 2026
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