In the middle of the Week 1 New York Jets versus San Francisco 49ers game something weird happened.
Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner was on the sideline with his helmet at his side while the starting defense was on the field. ESPN’s Lisa Salters confirmed during the Monday Night Football broadcast that Gardner wasn’t being held out for a “medical issue.”
That sparked a ton of rumors on social media that Gardner got benched.
“So let me get this straight, y’all really think I tackled Deebo and was just like “man ian doing that nomore” and took myself out the game?😂 Whatever happened was temporary and when it went away, I went back in lol. Simple as that,” Gardner responded on X previously Twitter on Tuesday, September 10.
Heavy on Jets
Shortly after positing that response, Gardner deleted it on social media.
Rumors Got out of Hand on Social Media
“ESPN broadcast just said that it is “not a medical issue” and there is “nothing wrong” with #Jets CB Sauce Gardner. That would mean they benched him? Or sat him? Why would you take your best corner off the field? That makes zero sense,” Connor Hughes of SNY said.
ESPN broadcast just said that it is “not a medical issue” and there is “nothing wrong” with #Jets CB Sauce Gardner.
That would mean they benched him? Or sat him?
Why would you take your best corner off the field? That makes zero sense.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said, “Sauce Gardner was on one knee alone on the sideline. Been staring at the ground a lot. Seems a little upset about something. Walking into the locker room with his head down.”
Sauce Gardner was on one knee alone on the sideline. Been staring at the ground a lot. Seems a little upset about something.
Walking into the locker room with his head down.
After the game head coach Robert Saleh was asked about Gardner’s absence during the game.
“He finished the half. He was just trying to catch his breath,” Saleh said.
After the game in the locker room, Gardner said the same thing to Andy Vasquez of NJ Advance Media.
“Oh, man. It was a tackle that I made and I just had to get my wind back. … when I felt like I was good, I went back on the field.” ‘It wasn’t anything other than that?’ “No.”
Sauce Gardner on why he left the game: “Oh, man. It was a tackle that I made and I just had to get my wind back. … when I felt like I was good, I went back on the field.”
It wasn’t anything other than that? “No.” #Jets
The Jets Defense Got Whacked and Coaching Staff Is Confident They Can Fix It
The green and white had a massive defensive letdown versus the 49ers on Monday, September 9.
For the first time in at least 45 years, an NFL team [Jets] allowed another team [49ers] to score on eight straight possessions, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
New York had the third-worst rush defense of any team in the NFL after Week 1 after allowing 180 rushing yards.
Despite some rough statistics and a poor showing, Saleh is confident that it isn’t anything to worry about.
“[I’ll] try to word this the right way it wasn’t for a lack of effort as much as it was for guys trying to do too much. When you play a team like San Francisco they have been together eight years, they are very precise in what they do. It is as simple as do your job. Do your job and we would have been in much better shape,” Saleh told the media. “It’s going to get fixed. It’s definitely going to get fixed. I’m not discouraged in any way. Obviously they executed a hell of a lot better than we did and we’ll be better for it.”
The Jets better hope they can fix it because every other team in the NFL saw the blueprint. Every opponent the Jets play is going to attempt to run the ball down their throat.
