During Sunday’s ugly New England Patriots 15-10 win over their division rival at MetLife Stadium, there weren’t many fireworks in the game. In fact, the Jets, who’ve struggled since losing Aaron Rodgers on opening night tallied just 171 total yards in the loss.
Things got a little testy as they normally do between the two longtime rivals when Patriots quarterback Mac Jones and Jets cornerback and reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Sauce Gardner got into it after a tackle.
As the two teams came together in a pile and following a tackle of Jones on a quarterback sneak by Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley things seemed to heat up. At the conclusion of the play Jones appeared from the pile after reportedly reaching out to Gardner to help him up, which he didn’t do. Once to his feet Jones, who’s got a bit of a track record of after-the-play antics, got into the face of Gardner.
Jones Going After The Jewels?
During his postgame interview Gardner detailed how things went, and how he Jones allegedly hit him in his most precious jewels.
“That’s probably the first time that ever happened to me,” Gardner said after the game. “He got tackled, and he reached his hand up to get me to help him up, and I just moved his hand out of the way.
“But then he got up and he just came up to me saying, like, ‘Good job.’ But while he’s saying that, he hit me in the private parts.”
“Definitely wasn’t expecting that. First time for everything I guess. … He’s trying to prevent me from having kids in the future.”
Jones Downplayed The Incident, But This Isn’t His First Rodeo
In talking with the media himself, Jones chalked it up to just the physical nature of the game. And, while that definitely has some validity to it, Jones has been involved in something like this every season of his now three-year NFL career.
In 2021, he and Carolina Panthers star edge rusher Brian Burns mixed it up a bit where Jones inexplicably twisted Burns ankle in attempt to keep him from recovering a fumble by Jones on a strip-sack. The twist was blatant and could’ve really injured Burns.
In 2022, Jones and Bears safety Jaquan Brisker got into it, with Jones leg-whipping him and kicking him in the midsection.
Nine weeks later Jones attempted to take the legs out from under Bengals cornerback Eli Apple following an interception.
All of these instances have one common theme, they’re egregious and downright dirty. Not real smart when you’re a QB and players can hit you often.
League is reportedly investigating the incident.
