There's a lot that head coach Aaron Glenn would like the Jets to improve on after shutting out the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-0, on the road Friday night, but that doesn't mean he'd ignore some of the highlight plays.
Five players stood out with what they were able to put on tape, and with the regular-season roster deadline approaching, everything matters.
David Bailey
The No. 2 overall pick felt relief after recording his first NFL sack Friday night.
"Sometimes I'm a little hard on myself," David Bailey said postgame. "You never know how things are going to play out."
Bailey got past Pittsburgh's starting tackle Broderick Jones to reach QB Will Howard and force a loss of 11 yards on the third-down play. The sack forced a punt.
"I was trying to get the best get-off possible," Bailey said. "I didn't really know what he was going to throw so I just went to my go-to [move]."
Bailey has played 20 snaps across the Jets' first two preseason games (8 against Tampa Bay and 12 against Pittsburgh) and Glenn knows the rookie can improve.
"He's very conscientious when it comes to that, he's a hard worker," Glenn said. "He's there early every day working on his body and doing things like that, so I know for a fact he's going to improve on some of those mistakes that he has."
New Additions with Immediate Impact
Edge Nate Lynn and WR Junior Bergen were added to the roster in the week leading up to Friday's game, had limited time to learn the playbook, but made impactful plays.
Lynn (6-3, 252) had 2 sacks on Pittsburgh QB Drew Allar in the second half. He played collegiately at William & Mary and finished his career ranked second in school history in sacks (28) and third in TFL (40).
The first time Lynn got to Allar in the third quarter, he ran through the right side of the line and caught him from behind for a loss of 10 yards. When he came at Allar again, Lynn used a spin move to get through the line of scrimmage and took him down for another 10-yard loss.
"We liked him in Detroit, so once we had an opportunity to get him back here it was a no-brainer to get him in, let him compete and see how he operates," Glenn said. "He did a really good job."
Bergen spent time on San Francisco's practice squad in 2025 after playing collegiately at Montana for four seasons. He signed with the Jets on Wednesday.
Bergen served as the primary punt returner and averaged 10.2 yards per return on his 5 attempts. In college, he established the Montana record for average yards per punt return at 16.71.
"He's so confident," Glenn said.
While he only saw three offensive plays, Bergen had the most explosive gain of the game for the Jets. On a screen pass to the left from QB Bailey Zappe, Bergen turned up field and broke free for a 44-yard gain. The play helped the Jets earn their first points since the opening drive touchdown with a Jason Sanders field goal in the fourth quarter.
Two Young Wideouts
Malik McClain and Quincy Skinner Jr., both 23 years old, are two other young wide outs hoping for a spot on the Jets' 53-man roster.
At the end of the game, Skinner caught a 31-yard-deep ball touchdown from QB Brady Cook and has made similar flashy plays throughout training camp. He signed with the Jets earlier this summer.
McClain signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent and caught both of his targets on Friday night. They each were significant completions on third down when the Jets were driving with Cade Klubnik leading the offense in the final two minutes before halftime.
The young wideout transferred three times and learned five playbooks over his collegiate career, which has made him comfortable learning Frank Reich's offensive system.
McClain used his speed to cut away from the defensive back and made a 14-yard grab on the sideline to stop the clock. On his second completion, he cut back toward the ball for a gain of 11 yards.
He considers his speed an asset, but that's something McClain has worked on since he was little.
"I was slow as Christmas when I was young," he said. His older brother was a big reason he became faster.
"I used to live on a dirt road and me and my brother, we ran in the dirt when it rained because it would turn to clay," McClain said. "He would dust me every time."
These young hopefuls have one more week to prove themselves before the cut-down deadline at 6 p.m. on Aug. 30.
