Sauce Gardner is smiling again.
The Jets cornerback says he is having fun on the field again after trying to do too much earlier this season.
Gardner has bounced back from some shaky games to play his best football in his past two games.
“My mental wasn’t all the way there for whatever reason. It just wasn’t there. That was it,” Gardner told The Post on Wednesday. “I wasn’t having as much fun. I was out there playing like I’ve got to make every single play. I’ve got to make plays for other people. I was playing like I can’t make mistakes. The way that I am, I’m somebody who’s always smiling and happy. I play my best when I’m smiling and I’m happy, because I’m having fun and I’m always being positive. I wasn’t doing that at all.”
Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) smiles at practice in Florham Park, NJ.Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Gardner drew very little criticism in his first two years, and he was named first-team All-Pro in each of those seasons.
But this year he has come under fire for missed tackles and penalties, and not playing as well as he had in those first two seasons.
The 24-year-old was affected by what he saw on social media, eventually deleting his X account to try to escape the negativity.
But Gardner said he was his own harshest critic after he made mistakes.
“Anytime I see something about me missing a tackle or something like that, I’m really staying up at night myself already no matter if somebody says something or not,” Gardner said. “That’s just how I am. I want to make every single play. You could say that you’re going to make mistakes, but that’s just not my thought process. If somebody gets the ball on me, I’ll be up at night for a while before I can go to sleep.”
Gardner has not had to worry about sleepless nights lately.
New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) celebrates after an interception against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth quarter at EverBank Stadium on Sunday.Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
He has played his best football in his past two games against the Seahawks and Jaguars (he missed the game against the Dolphins with a hamstring injury).
In those two games, Gardner had no missed tackles after missing 10 earlier this season.
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Against the Seahawks, he matched up with DK Metcalf for much of the day and gave up two receptions for 28 yards on five targets.
Last week in Jacksonville, he allowed just one reception for 9 yards on six targets, though he was called for two penalties.
He intercepted Mac Jones to end the game, Gardner’s first interception in two years.
Sauce Gardner of the New York Jets intercepts a pass intended for Parker Washington of the Jacksonville Jaguars during the fourth quarter at EverBank Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida.Getty Images
“These past two games have been the best two games of the season in my opinion for him,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “I’ve just seen a rejuvenated spirit and focus, and it’s the Sauce that we all love, as far as the way he’s been preparing, and it’s resulted in two really [good] back-to-back games, so just got to keep it going.”
Gardner said his head began to clear during the bye week last month.
Like everyone around the Jets, Gardner had high hopes for this season, and he is now dealing with his third losing season in a row.
Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) practices in Florham Park, NJ.Bill Kostroun/New York Post
“That bye week let me clear my mind. I really needed to reflect on how I could be better,” Gardner said. “Everything just happened so fast. Next thing you know, boom, we’re 2-and-something.”
The firing of coach Robert Saleh after five games also had an affect on Gardner, who is close with Saleh.
“It definitely affected me. Like I said, they helped change my life,” Gardner said of Saleh and former GM Joe Douglas. “It also brought an added pressure. It got to the point where literally people felt like we have another head coach, we can’t make no mistakes. Everybody was just playing that way. That’s not good. When you have players that feel like I have to make this play and this play and this play, instead of let me just do my job because I believe in the man next to me to do his job, that’s a problem.”
Gardner is not going to be an All-Pro this year or receive the accolades of his first two years, but he has three more games to show what kind of player he is.
Expect to see him smiling.
