Will McDonald proves once again that he is a key force for the Jets' pressure against the Patriots
When rumors began to circulate about Will McDonald's sack numbers, linebacker Sam Eguavoen yelled to his teammates in a happy Jets locker room: “Those are Haason numbers!”
In fact, McDonald's jump has made it easier for Gang Green to forget about Haason Reddick's indefinite contract suspension or Jermaine Johnson's torn Achilles tendon.
In Thursday night's 24-3 rout of the Patriots, McDonald added two more sacks, giving him five in the last two games, both wins.
“His jump from year one to year two is crazy,” Eguavoen told The Post. “And you could see it in training camp, working from 8 (a.m.) to 6 (p.m.), Will is the first one to arrive and the last one to leave.
“I don’t know what he was doing there, but he was constantly working on his craft. You could tell that, both in the film room and on the field, he was a completely different person.”
McDonald, the 15th overall pick in 2023, struggled in minor opportunities as a rookie, racking up three sacks on the season.
But now he's in the spotlight with no Reddick in sight and defender Johnson out for the season.
McDonald's five sacks currently rank second in the NFL, with most teams yet to play a third game.
“Will is still a tough guy. It’s just the little things (he’s getting better),” said Eguavoen, a backup linebacker who recorded one tackle Thursday. “Like not being more accurate under center. And not flying down the field after the quarterback. He’s always been incredibly talented. It’s just his mindset has changed. Everybody has to think in their mind, ‘I’m him. I’m that tough guy.’ He found a way to bring that tough guy out of him this year.”
McDonald added: “I'm still not impressed. I have to finish the season to be impressed with what I did. And like I said, it doesn't really matter unless we get to the championship game and win that ring.
“We have to keep pressing. Keep winning our one-on-one duels. Give the ball to the offense. Keep moving forward.”
Jets coach Robert Saleh joked that McDonald is just getting started.
“You have to be patient,” he said. “It’s coming.”
The Patriots (1-2) lack talent on offense and were blown out by the Jets, who were terrible defensively in Week 1 against the 49ers and allowed just 139 yards on Thursday.
Most impressively, the Patriots, with their ground-oriented offense, managed just 78 rushing yards.
“It’s a mentality. It’s one-on-one. It’s, ‘I’ve got to win that one-on-one. I’ve got to dominate it,’” Eguavoen said. “You want to run the ball, there’s not a lot of scheme to that. Running the ball is a man’s game. Which family is tougher? Is my family going to eat or is your family going to eat? It’s pretty simple. That’s how I like football. There’s no scheme or ‘I’ve got you.’”
“The question is which family is stronger.”
