Sauce Gardner holds the opinion that NFL officials are unfairly targeting him, attributing it to the New York Jets’ status as a struggling team. The cornerback expressed his frustration following his team’s disappointing 27-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.
This is coming from Gardner after he was penalized for pass interference in the third quarter of the Week 4 game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. It marked the second consecutive game in which the Cincinnati alum has been flagged for pass interference by the officials.
“I’m personally frustrated,” Gardner said. “I watch football and I just feel like — and I don’t know if this is wrong to say — but I think I get called for more stuff just based off of us not winning. I watch these winning programs and there’s some egregious things that don’t get called.
“…we don’t win and I feel like don’t get the calls that we should get and we get calls we shouldn’t get called for. Obviously that’s not why I want to win. I want to win because I don’t like losing.”
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Without a doubt, the Monday night game against the struggling Dolphins was a winnable one for the Jets. However, they fell to 0-4 with an underwhelming performance marked by 13 penalties for 101 yards and three fumbles lost, igniting Sauce Gardner’s frustration.
Sauce Gardner faults the pass interference call
Sauce Gardner was flagged for pass interference while covering wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who ran an in-cut route with the Jets trailing 17-10. However, the pass to Waddle was incomplete. The controversial scenario of the call was fault by the cornerback.
“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,” Gardner said. “I’m seeing him count the steps, all that. He’s not going to catch the ball regardless.
“I just feel like, in general, even the Mike Evans [penalty last week], I just feel like us not winning — it’s what goes on if we don’t win. 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.”
On Tuesday, New York Jets coach Aaron Glenn addressed Sauce Gardner’s comments about officiating, noting the team plans to submit certain calls to the NFL for clarification. Glenn noted that the Jets, with their 0-4 record, must earn the benefit of such calls through improved performance.