David Bailey was a Jets 'flame thrower' in breakout performance that's an exciting sign for defense

Aaron Glenn was handing out game balls inside a jubilant Jets locker room Sunday when he started shouting out some impressive individual stats.

The smiling coach then turned to his left, pointed to rookie edge rusher David Bailey and used an expletive while calling him a “flame thrower,” prompting huge cheers.

Three sacks, seven total tackles, three tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, nine pressures — and one huge breakout performance for the No. 2 overall pick in New York's 17-12 victory over Cleveland.

“Just relentless,” Glenn said Monday.

Bailey helped a previously pedestrian Jets pass rush sack Deshaun Watson eight times. Glenn was aggressive Sunday, using blitzes and causing chaos — led by Bailey — with a defense that has held three of its first five opponents to under 200 yards of total offense. The Jets didn't do that once last season.

“It felt good, man,” Bailey said of his game. “It felt good to know that to do this, to compete against the highest level and I’m just proud of my D-line. I’m proud of the defense as a whole to come together.”

It was exactly what the Jets (2-3) were hoping for when they made him the highest-drafted defensive player in franchise history in April. And the game-wrecking impact is precisely what they expected.

“It's the same thing you really saw from him coming out of college,” Glenn said of the former Texas Tech star. “His ability to bend the edge, his ability to dip, lean, use power in that lean and be able to rip up and be able to go make plays on the quarterback. His ability to make a move and then rush with power.”

Glenn also praised Bailey's performance in the running game, which was considered by some as one of his weaknesses coming out of college.

“That’s who he is,” quarterback Geno Smith said. “We’ve seen it from the moment he stepped in. In training camp, he was all around the football making plays. He’s been doing it all season. He’s a young player, but he’s got a veteran approach and he does the little things well.”

Last week, Bailey was answering questions about what some perceived as a slow start to his NFL career. He had two sacks in his first four games, but the impact seemed minimal. He insisted he was focused on doing his job and not worried about any outside noise.

Then came Sunday's booming performance.

“Everything you would want in an edge (rusher) is in David Bailey,” cornerback Azareye’h Thomas said.

Bailey became the seventh player in the past 25 years to have a three-sack performance in his first five NFL games, according to Stats Perform, and the first since Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson in 2022. Bailey also joined Hugh Douglas (1995) as the only Jets rookies to have three sacks in a game.

“He's here for a reason," defensive tackle Jowon Briggs said, “and he's going to continue to do those types of things.”

The Jets put up 276 yards of total offense — hardly eye-popping numbers. But that came in a driving rain, and they were 8 of 17 on third down after going 0 for 7 last week.

Wide receiver Tim Patrick says the Jets have “insane” talent on offense when everyone's healthy. Running back Breece Hall and wide receivers Adonai Mitchell and Omar Cooper Jr. are among those sidelined.

“We could be the best, honestly,” he said. “I've never been around this much talent.”

Reminded he was a member of the 2024 Detroit Lions, who led the league in scoring, Patrick highlighted the Jets' versatile five-man tight end corps.

“That's why I would put them over the Lions,” Patrick said before adding with a smile: “That's gonna backfire on me, really.”

Glenn said he wants to see the Jets get their return game going on punts and kickoffs. Kene Nwangwu averaged 22.7 yard on three kickoff returns in his second game back from injury, while Isaiah Williams had a 36-yard return and brought back four punts for 67 yards, a 16.8-yard average.

RB Braelon Allen. The third-year running back had a career-high 116 yards rushing and the winning 22-yard touchdown on 24 carries, filling in for the second game in a row for Hall. “It shouldn't be a surprise,” Glenn said. “He went out there and did his job. No one was surprised. We're all happy for him.”

RG Joe Tippmann. He has been one of the more consistent players on an up-and-down O-line, but he had a rough day against the Browns. He was part of three sacks of Smith and was called for two penalties.

Rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq is in the concussion protocol. Glenn had no further updates on other injuries, including Hall (quadriceps), Mitchell (finger) and LG Dylan Parham (knee). Cooper (ankle) is eligible to be activated from injured reserve this week.

10 — The Jets had 10 more enforced penalties, giving them 47 for the season and tying the Chargers for the second most in the NFL behind only the Browns (49).

The Jets will head to New England to play the Patriots next Sunday in their first AFC East game of the season. The defending AFC champions are 3-2 and on a two-game winning streak. They've also won the past three meetings with New York.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (5) walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is sacked by New York Jets cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (2) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Jets running back Braelon Allen (0) scores a touchdown ahead of Cleveland Browns safety Ronnie Hickman (33) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) is sacked by New York Jets linebacker David Bailey (31) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Jets linebacker David Bailey (31) celebrates with teammate linebacker Jamien Sherwood (44) after a sack during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Atlanta general manager Dan Padover built the Dream into a title contender through shrewd trades, a little bit of luck and patience from the team's ownership group.

All that has paid off as Atlanta is headed to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013 when the Dream play the Golden State Valkyries in the best-of-seven series that begins Saturday.

“I give the ownership group a lot of credit for having the patience to have this thing get where it is today,” Padover said in a phone interview. “A lot of times in sports, teams get broken up too early. Letting them grow together gives a continuity that is a huge competitive advantage. You’re seeing it now.”

Putting this team together started soon after Padover came to the franchise in 2021 from Las Vegas.

“We never got lottery luck or many free agents really, so we had to do it through trades,” said Padover, who was with the Aces when they drafted Jackie Young with the No. 1 pick. “That’s definitely the hardest way to build a franchise.”

ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo has been impressed with what Padover has done with the Dream.

“They put everything together. If they don’t have Angel (Reese) this year they aren’t in the finals. They got the gift of DeWanna Bonner at end of season. They picked her up for nothing. I think it’s twofold: a GM who has done an extraordinary job finding the right pieces and a team that’s come together at the right time.”

The three-time WNBA Executive of the Year's first big move was acquiring the No. 1 pick from Washington in 2022 to draft Rhyne Howard and then taking Naz Hillmon 15th that year through another traded draft pick.

“None of it gets off the ground without Rhyne and Naz,” he said. “They had a belief in each other and that we could try to build something here.”

The next season Padover traded for Allisha Gray for two draft picks, giving the Dream a solid foundation with Gray, Howard and Hillmon.

“Got to give credit to Lish,” Padover said. “She was on trade market, but she circled this as a place she wanted to go to. It worked out for all parties involved.”

The team was lacking a true point guard though, so Padover went out and got Jordin Canada from Seattle in 2024.

The biggest move though came this past year. After being upset by Indiana in the first round of the playoffs last season, Padover knew they need Angel Reese to contend for a title. A few months later, Padover made the move.

“I think she was looking at a few different places, but given our group, given our organization, our market, we were a natural fit for her,” he said.

The final piece to the puzzle involved signing DeWanna Bonner right at the end of the regular season when the Phoenix Mercury let her go to make one more run at a championship.

“It happened that Phoenix and her worked out a deal to allow her to make a run in the postseason and that turned into a mini-free agency with a bunch of teams that went after her,” Padover said. “We were fortunate that we had made a run at her the last few free agencies. She has a great relationship with our players, which helped.”

Padover decided after the 2024 season that it was time to move on from coach Tanisha Wright after she had led the team to consecutive playoff appearances. The team hired a search firm and the biggest thing that the franchise wanted was a basketball purist who aligned with the core values of the organization. The answer was longtime Florida Gulf Coast coach Karl Smesko.

“Karl was born to be a basketball coach. He’s extremely humble and hard working and just a phenomenal basketball mind,” Padover said. “To be in his second year in this amazing league that is ultra competitive from a player and coaching standpoint. To have 30 wins his first two years and then make the WNBA Finals in year two, puts him up there in elite, elite company.”

With the condensed free agency period this offseason because of the new collective bargaining agreement, Padover had little time to re-sign Howard, Gray, Canada, Hillmon and the others.

In the span of two days he was able to get them to all want to come back.

“To lock up five players in 48 hours is crazy, usually you don’t lock up one that quickly,” Padover said. “It’s a two-week process in a normal year.”

Padover said the work began well before he was able to talk to them.

“It was so important to have done your work earlier and them knowing who you are and that you care,” he said. “We knew speed was important because people were out there making them good offers. We made them feel whole as quickly as possible and showed them how much we wanted them."

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) and Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard (10) react after their team defeated the New York Liberty in Game 3 of the WNBA basketball semifinals, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

FILE - WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, right, awards Las Vegas Aces general manager of basketball operations Dan Padover the 2021 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year award before Game 2 in the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs between the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury, Sept. 30, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker, File)