New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner is looking to bounce back from a down year in 2024.
The Jets’ star cornerback got off to a good start in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite New York’s defense allowing 34 points in Week 1, Gardner played elite football. Per Pro Football Focus, Gardner finished Week 1 with a 90.5 coverage grade after allowing just 11 yards on four targets. The analytics site also credited Gardner with two forced incompletions.
After a great start in Week 1, Gardner now has to deal with going against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. To say Gardner is not excited about the thought is an understatement.
“It’s always a battle,” Gardner told the media when asked about Allen. “I mean, obviously, I don’t really enjoy it. As a corner, you never really enjoy playing against running quarterbacks or quarterbacks that are capable of using their legs and stuff like that... I know he’s a competitor. He’s a guy. You know, we’re very aware of that.”
It’s easy to understand why Gardner does not enjoy going against Allen. In addition to Allen’s ability to use his legs, Buffalo’s quarterback is lethal with his arm as well. The NFL’s reigning MVP proved that on Sunday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens.
Allen led Buffalo on a wild fourth-quarter comeback, throwing for 251 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 18 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. For the game, he finished with 394 yards passing, 30 yards rushing and four total touchdowns in the team’s 41-40 win. The quarterback’s clutch play down the stretch earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
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