How Mac Jones Reacted To Sauce Gardner’s Accusation Of Low Blow

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Another day, another controversy over Mac Jones potentially being a dirty player.

During the Patriots’ 15-10 win over the Jets on Sunday, Jones and a slew of New York players engaged in a brief scuffle after an unsuccessful sneak attempt by New England’s quarterback. One of those Jets players was star cornerback Sauce Gardner, who after the game accused Jones of intentionally hitting him in his “private parts”.

“That’s probably the first time that ever happened to me,” said Gardner, whose full comments can be viewed by clicking here. “… I don’t even know what to say.”

Looks like a personal foul for a late hit long after the whistle but what do I know? pic.twitter.com/0g75E3xCY4

— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) September 24, 2023

Jones was informed of Gardner’s remarks during a postgame news conference and was asked whether he thought he did anything wrong on the play.

“Um, no,” said Jones, who completed 15 of 29 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown in the Patriots’ needed win.

“I think just trying to get the first down,” Jones said. “… Definitely a physical play. A lot of guys are in there. It’s kind of the famous quarterback sneak that everybody does. All the guys on both teams are in there, so it can get pretty physical. That’s something I have to learn from — getting my pads a little bit lower so that I can get it and not get held up.”

As of Sunday evening, we hadn’t seen any video effort that corroborated Gardner’s claims. That said, Gardner certainly reacted as if Jones truly did something wrong, although he might’ve perceived malintent when there wasn’t any.

Regardless, this controversy will offer more ammunition to those who believe Jones too often has crossed the line during his young NFL career. And those people might be right.

Nevertheless, Jones and the Patriots will turn their focus toward next Sunday, when they’ll visit the Dallas Cowboys with an opportunity to improve to 2-2 on the season.