Things aren’t going well for the Jets this season and Sauce Gardner’s frustration seemed to boil over on Monday as Conner hit back at his critics via social media following another loss to Gang Green over the weekend.
Gardner missed a key tackle in the second quarter on a drive that ended with the Cardinals taking a 21-6 lead.
Gardner acknowledged the mistake on Sunday but hit back at those who pointed it out on Monday: He posted a response to then deleted it: He is an ESPN reporter who covers the Jets and a fan who frequently posts social media content about the team.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini described the missed tackle as the “costliest thing” in the game in a post on X, which Gardner’s response was quickly deleted from.
“Yes, I’m 100% certain that the biggest loss was a missed tackle for a 17-yard gain early in the second quarter. In fact, that’s why we lost the game,” Gardner wrote late Monday morning.
Later that same day, Gardner appeared to go after another critic.
Jets fan and content creator Matt O’Leary posted a clip holding Gardner accountable and urging the team to take some responsibility for the way it plays.
Gardner caught wind of the clip and posted a message to O’Leary on X, which he later posted.
“I have a strong sense of responsibility and my teammates know that.” According to Jets X Factor, he wrote: “I don’t owe it to you or anyone else on this app, I owe it to them. I missed one tackle and gave up about 19 yards. Do you want each playback again? of course. But how about coming to the NFL’s Play Corner for a week and telling us how it goes?”
The Jets’ most recent loss to the Cardinals on Sunday dropped them to 3-7 and a sub-.500 record in the ugly AFC East.
“I have to make that tackle,” Gardner said, acknowledging the missed tackle when speaking with reporters after the game.
“I have to make that tackle,” Gardner said. “As a team, I don’t know. I know we practice all the time — D-line; [linebackers] Auxiliary – We do it all the time. It starts with me. I have to get better. “You have to tackle.”
Gardner wasn’t the only defender to miss a tackle for a loss, with Next Gen Stats indicating the Jets missed 20 tackles in the game.
