Sauce Gardner says he’s being targeted by the officials.
Gardner, following the New York Jets’ 27-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Monday night, lit up the referees for what he felt were biased calls against him and his teammates. Most notably, the cornerback was called for a big pass interference penalty in the third quarter of Monday’s contest at Hard Rock Stadium, which helped set up a Dolphins touchdown.
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But it’s not an issue with Gardner, one of the better cornerbacks in the league, specifically. He says he thinks he and the Jets are getting called for more penalties because they keep losing games.
“I’m personally frustrated,” Gardner said. “I feel like me personally, us not winning, I watch football all the time and I just feel like — I don’t know if this is wrong to say — but I think I get called for more stuff just based off of us just not winning.
“I watch these winning programs and there’s some egregious things and it don’t get called, letting the players play.”
Those comments are sure to lead to a fine from the NFL in the coming days.
Gardner, who is the highest-paid cornerback in the league, struggled Monday night. Outside of the pass interference call that helped lead to a Dolphins touchdown, Gardner allowed tight end Darren Waller to catch a touchdown on fourth down early in the second quarter. That score, which put Miami up 10-0 at the time, was Waller’s first since 2023.
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In total, the Jets were called for 13 penalties worth 101 yards Monday night. They had three turnovers and allowed De’Von Achane to run for 99 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. The Dolphins, now 1-3, also lost Tyreek Hill to a brutal knee injury in the game.
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Justin Fields went 20-of-27 passing for 226 yards with a touchdown. He also led the team on the ground with 81 rushing yards and a score on seven carries. Breece Hall had 81 yards on 14 carries, and Garrett Wilson had 82 yards and a touchdown on six catches.
Gardner had two total tackles in the loss. He’s up to 12 this season, his fourth in the league.
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While it’s hard to know how real Gardner’s officiating claims are, he is right about one thing: The Jets aren’t winning. They are now 0-4 on the season, making them one of just three winless teams still in the league. The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2010, and they have only a single winning season since then. They hold just a 36-48 record since the start of the 2018 season, too, which is the worst record in the league in that span.
Winning games may not get them calls. But it certainly would make Gardner feel better.
“We don’t win, and I feel like we don’t get the calls that we should get, and we do get called for calls that we probably shouldn’t get called for,” Gardner said. “Obviously that’s not the only reason I want to win. I want to win because I don’t like losing.”
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