62 yards allowed is 62 too many, according to Jets' Sauce Gardner
Cornerback Sauce Gardner of the New York Jets walks out onto the field before the NFL game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium on September 11, 2023. Credit: Getty Images
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Monday was a bad night for Sauce Gardner, and that was even before the Jets lost their Hall of Fame quarterback.
On the first play of the game, with Aaron Rodgers safely on the sideline having yet to take the field, the Bills hit Stefon Diggs for a 7-yard pass with Gardner in coverage. It ruined the cornerback’s shutout.
That’s what Gardner goes into every game expecting to do.
“I don’t want to allow anything,” he said on Friday. “I didn’t want that to happen. I don’t want to allow any catches or touchdowns, none of that. That’s just me, though.”
It’s an admittedly high goal, he said, and one that will be almost impossible to achieve given that he often lines up against the other team’s top receiver. This Sunday, that likely will be Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb. But he was genuinely disappointed that he allowed not only that first catch to Diggs but four others throughout the game for a total of 62 yards. He called his play “average.”
“There are a lot of people who look at it like, ‘He allowed [62] yards on five plays, so that means he was locked up for 60-something snaps,’ ” said Gardner, last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. “I don’t look at it like that. I shouldn’t be allowing that many yards. That’s my standard. A lot of corners in the league, that’s not bad. But my standard and the coaches’ standard for me is different. The things that I want to accomplish, the legacy I want to have, it’s gotta be different.”
Jets coach Robert Saleh could only smile at Gardner’s harsh self-evaluation.
“He’s a tough critic,” he said. “If the five receptions and 62 yards he had put on him is a bad day, then we’re doing OK. But that’s why he is special. That’s a ‘bad day’ for him.”
Hall still has that burst
In his first game back from a torn ACL, Breece Hall said he expected to be a step or so slower than he was before his injury. “Kind of like for my eyes to be ahead of my body,” he said Friday.
That wasn’t the case. The running back reached a top speed of 20.54 mph on his 83-yard run in the second quarter on Monday night, according to NFL’s NextGen Stats. It was the third-fastest time at which he has been clocked in his short career.
He may have been about as fast as ever, but he still got caught without reaching the end zone. He blamed that on his conditioning not being in midseason form after an abbreviated preseason that was mostly focused on rehabbing his knee. While Hall’s 40 time may still be elite, his 80 time can use some work.
“It’ll be back, so I’m not really worried about that,” he said.
Kicker questions
The biggest injury concern for the Jets going into Dallas is kicker Greg Zuerlein, who injured his groin late in practice Thursday and was unable to work Friday. Saleh said it is “50-50” that he can play Sunday.
“We’ll see how that works over the next couple of days,” Saleh said. “It’s not serious, but serious enough to bring this game into question.”
The Jets tried out several kickers Friday as potential replacements if needed.
Extra points
Hall and offensive tackles Duane Brown and Mekhi Becton all practiced fully Friday . . . With only two quarterbacks on the roster — Tim Boyle will be elevated from the practice squad to back up Zach Wilson — Saleh said if they need an emergency quarterback, it would be veteran receiver Randall Cobb. “Maybe we’ll get some single wing going,” Saleh said.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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