After getting gashed for 401 yards at San Francisco six days ago, a Jets defense that appeared to be hobbled, by the absence of cornerback D.J. Reed (knee) and then the loss of captain and inspiration C.J. Mosley (right toe) in the second quarter and finally Jermaine Johnson (Achilles tendon) in the third, stood tall when it was imperative -- none more than second-year edge Will McDonald IV.
With the Jets (1-1) clinging precariously to a 7-point lead and the host Titans (1-1) driving down the field, McDonald used his long reach to drag QB Will Levis to the turf for a 6-yard loss on third down at the Jets' 14-yard line with 29 seconds to play.
On fourth down, Levis' pass was broken up by safety Tony Adams and QB Aaron Rodgers took a knee as the Jets salted away the gritty 24-17 win at Nissan Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Asked his intent on the third-down play, McDonald said: "Going to get ball. You know, Coach always say, win. I want to one. So, you know, in that time, we had to win our one-on-ones, get the job done, continue to make production, win the game."
There won't be much time to savor the bounce-back win because the Jets will host AFC rival New England at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night.
In a single game, McDonald had 3 sacks, matching his total from the 15 games he played in his rookie season after being the Jets' top selection (No. 15 overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft. McDonald had first 3-sack game for Jets DL since Henry Anderson vs. Houston in 2018, the first 3-sack game on road by Jets DE (edge) since Shaun Ellis and John Abraham each had 3s-ack games in 2004.
"McDonald, man, was unbelievable," HC Robert Saleh said after the game. "He was unbelievable. Unbelievable. We fought, kept swinging, we knew today wasn't going to be easy with all the travel."
In addition to his trio of sacks (for 14 yards), McDonald had 4 tackles, 3 QB hits, 3 TFL and a stip sack and forced fumble at the Jets' 6-yard line that snuffed out a Titans drive that could have put the Jets down 14 points in the second quarter.
The game was only a few minutes old when McDonald wrestled Levis to the turf on third down of the game's opening drive. He then sacked and forced a fumble (as Levis failed to complete a lateral to Tyjae Spears) at the Jets' 11-yard line, at the 8:26 mark of the third quarter as the Titans put together a long drive. Quincy Williams fell on the loose ball.
"Everybody's good, everybody's making production, and everybody's doing their job," McDonald said. "So, you know, as long as that, as long as they have a part to play, it's really all that matters. We might have a couple of slipups here and there, but we got to continue to make the nice play, win the game."
A lot has been expected from McDonald (6-4, 236), especially after he was gifted the No. 99 jersey, which Jets fans of a certain age will remember was worn by Mark Gastineau.
"With Will, you know, I'm going to have to look at this tape, but it felt, it felt like he was really bringing power to his game today," Saleh said. "I thought a couple of his sacks, or at least one of them, he ran right through that right tackle [Nicholas Petit-Frere] and, you know, so he, if he can continue, if he continues to develop that, he will, he will be able to do that to that guy in his sleep. And, you know, but just overall, I thought the guys stood up. Got a good group, and it's, it was good to see what we got."
McDonald bounced back from a modest performance in the opener against the 49ers when he took 35 snaps (49%) and had a single tackle and 2 pressures on 17 pass rush attempts, according to Next Gen Stats.
"You know, we're a young team that, and an organization that's been through it for the last 13 years," Saleh said. "So, there's going to be some learning as we go."
