There wasn’t anything pretty about the Jets’ 15-10 loss to the Patriots on Sunday. The weather was abysmal, Zach Wilson struggled and there was some obvious frustration from the Jets throughout the game.
But one rough moment, in particular, apparently warranted some more context.
In the second half, some pushing and shoving broke out between Patriots quarterback Mac Jones and the Jets defense. At one point, Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner shoved Jones to the ground. But according to the Jets star, the entire incident was provoked by Jones. Gardner said that Jones intentionally hit him in the “private parts.”
Sauce Gardner says that Mac Jones hit him in his "private parts" on a QB sneak during the game: pic.twitter.com/MEoO560pOo
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) September 24, 2023
Here’s a look at what happened.
This video surfaced earlier of Sauce Gardner shoving #Patriots QB Mac Jones after the play…
If Mac Jones did indeed hit Sauce Gardner in his “private parts” then this reaction makes sense.pic.twitter.com/zY5kD1FJDO
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 24, 2023
Though it’s difficult to see what exactly went down from Gardner’s perspective, Gardner reacted and shoved Jones right as the Patriots quarterback walked by him. It did appear that Jones did something to provoke the shove, and it wouldn’t have been the first time Jones did something dirty to an opposing player.
Mac Jones is a dirty player – Compilation video from 4 different incidents from his two-year career. pic.twitter.com/LFDUugodvA
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 25, 2022
We’ll have to see if the league takes a closer look at the incident.