Star cornerback Sauce Gardner, who leads the New York Jets with four penalties this season, expressed concern that officials are unfairly targeting him due to the team’s losing record. Gardner’s comments come following a heartbreaking 27-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. Unfortunately, during a turning point in the game, he got flagged for a questionable pass interference call.
Entering the third quarter of that contest, the Jets found themselves behind 17-10. Gardner getting flagged when defending wideout Jaylen Waddle. This play was the second straight week that Gardner was hit with a pass interference call. He acknowledged his frustration regarding the calls, stating, “I feel like we don’t get the calls that we should get, and we get the calls that we probably shouldn’t get called for.”
Gardner’s remarks underscore a sentiment that is quickly gaining traction within the Jets’ organization. Over the past two years, the team has led the league in penalties, and Gardner believes their underwhelming performance may be influencing officiating decisions. Now we’ve given up on a call that I think our pain is pretty clear, particularly after rolling that Mike Evans penalty last week. The truth is, losing hits us the hardest.
Even through his struggles, Gardner has still continued to be the cornerstone for the Jets. Prior to training camp, he signed a lucrative four-year, $120.4 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. It’s been a tough year for Gardner. In 2024, he has already been flagged ten times, with nine of that accepted. Only three cornerbacks in the league have worse penalty yards accrued than him.
Jets defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn talked about Gardner’s adjustment. He complained that they were phantom and promised that the team would get further clarification from the league on calls like that being made against him. Look, Sauce said what he said, and I’m not gonna bet against that man’s confidence. What I do know is this — we need to get ourselves in the right position to be the ones to start getting those calls,” Glenn said. He admitted to a number of other calls on the field that he believed hurt his team throughout the game.
Glenn hit on the ever-present challenge of balancing penalties on a squad that has, for years, fought against the organization’s track record of undisciplined play. “We had a pretty high number of our own penalties that we need to get cleaned up,” he said. “And again, we’re talking about a team that had two years of leading the league in penalties and we’re still trying to clean those things up.”
Gardner’s frustrations were further amplified by his perception that he was often placed in a no-win position on the court. “I got caught on something today where it’s like, I know the route and everything and I’m just supposed to let him just push off at the top of route,” he explained. Now I’m watching him, like, count the footsteps, all that. He’s not going to make a play on the ball anyway.”
As the Jets continue to navigate their difficult season, Gardner’s penalties may remain a focal point of discussion among fans and analysts alike. This mix of personal responsibility and organizational rigor will be essential as they dig in to try and reverse their misfortunes.
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