KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jets edge rusher David Bailey, the second overall pick in the April draft, returned from a one-week absence with a groin injury and terrorized Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Sunday.
Bailey, on one Kansas City possession, strip-sacked Mahomes twice late in the first half, and the second sack looked like it may have seriously injured Mahomes’ right arm.
Mahomes, after the hit, wobbled off the field holding his right elbow, but he returned on the next Chiefs possession and played the rest of the game.
“He did that at Texas Tech a lot [and] that’s why he got drafted second overall,’’ Mahomes, who also went to Texas Tech, said. “I saw it on a lot of TV. I don’t like being the guy that’s getting hit. So, I’ll try to stay away from that.”
Mahomes said a hit like that “scares you in moments when you get some pains in certain areas of your body. And so, obviously, it didn’t feel great, but I was able to kind of get it worked on a little bit, especially at halftime, and I was able to go out there and finish the game.”
Bailey finished with those two sacks, which gives him the team lead with 7 ½. He also led the team with nine tackles, three for losses and six quarterback pressures — all in the first half.
“No surprise,’’ Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said of Bailey’s performance. “That’s who he is. Each game, he’s learning and getting better. It’s good to see. We expect him to make plays like that.’’
Bailey said he didn’t notice Mahomes hurting after the second sack, saying of his performance: “It’s always a blessing just getting out there and just playing football, playing the game I love.’’
Bailey’s two sacks and forced fumbles on a single drive made him the eighth player in the NFL, as far back as 1991, to record two of each on the same drive, and the only rookie to record the feat.
His 7 ½ sacks are tied for the fifth most by a player in his first eight career games since the stat became official in 1982. Among those he joined in doing that are Pro Football Hall of Famers Reggie White and Julius Peppers, according to Elias Sports Bureau. His 7 ½ sacks through eight career games are the most by any player in more than 20 seasons.
Perhaps the worst TD of the game the Jets allowed was a 7-yard Mahomes slant pass to RB Kenneth Walker III, who was wide open. That gave the Chiefs their first lead, 7-6.
“I have to make a better call to help our guys,’’ Glenn said, blaming himself.
As expected, Jets WR Garrett Wilson was inactive, still in concussion protocol after the big hit to the head he took last week against the Raiders.
WR Adonai Mitchell, who had 142 receiving yards and a TD last week, failed to make a single catch Sunday despite seven targets. He dropped a deep Geno Smith pass that would have been a long gainer.
The Jets’ leading receiver was rookie Omar Cooper Jr., who had eight receptions for 58 yards.
Of mild surprise, WR Tim Patrick was a healthy scratch despite Wilson being out. That left the Jets with four WRs on the active roster for the game: Mitchell, Cooper, Isaiah Williams and Malik McClain.
The other Jets inactives included edge rusher Joseph Ossai, CB Nahshon Wright, LB Trevin Wallace, G Kohl Levao and T Blake Freeland.
The Jets forced three fumbles in the first half, increasing their season total to 13, the third most by a Jets defense through nine weeks, trailing only the 2001 and 2008 teams (14 each).
The Jets offense has scored on the opening possession in five consecutive games, the longest active streak in the league. Overall, the six opening-possession scoring drives are the most by a Jet offense through nine games since 2003, according to TruMedia.
Jason Sanders, who was 4-for-5 on field goals, became the fifth kicker in Jets history with at least four made field goals in back-to-back games, joining Jim Turner (three straight in 1968), Greg Zuerlein (2023), Jay Feely (2008, 2009), and Mike Nugent (2007).
Sanders has made 21 field goals this season. With 12 points Sunday, Sanders has 76 points this season, the third most by a Jet nine weeks into the season.
Arrowhead Stadium has been a house of horrors for the Jets, who last won a game there in 1998 when Bill Parcells was coaching. The Jets have lost their last five games in Kansas City by an average score of 29-8.
Justin Fields, who quarterbacked the Jets last season before the Jets dealt him to Kansas City in the offseason to be Mahomes’ backup, was inserted into the game for a fourth-and-1 QB sneak, and he fumbled the ball away.
