Jul 23, 2025; Florham Park, NY, USA; New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) warms up during training camp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images John Jones-Imagn Images

'Stars Win Games': Longtime Cowboy Calls Out Jets' Sauce Gardner

Originally posted on New York Jets on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Sep 17, 2025 8:12 AM ET

The New York Jets are 0-2 on the season so far and with that has come some negative chatter.

The vibes were high heading into the season, and unsurprisingly, that isn’t as much the case right now after two straight losses, including a brutal 30-10 loss against the Buffalo Bills in which the team completed just 10 passes total for 83 yards.

As the season approached, pretty much everything said was positive about new head coach Aaron Glenn and the team in general. Now, the negative noise is picking up. For example, former Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Brian Baldinger called out cornerback Sauce Gardner on "BT & Sal LIVE" on WFAN.

Did they get it right with Sauce Gardner?

"I mean, Sauce had two," Baldinger said. "They're counting on him to be a shut down player the way they are moving him around and he wasn't. He had the penalty and gave up some catches. Like, you just gave him the contract. Stars win games in this league. Guys like me that played in this league and talk for long, we don't win games. Stars gotta win games. Josh Allen wins game. Sauce has to help them win games. He can't be grabbing these wide receivers by the jersey. Like, he is better than Keon Coleman or whoever he's out there guarding. It starts there. You can do that if you're Sauce right now. That's part of it. The penalties are unforgiven and needs to be harped on all practice.

This is somewhat surprising. There can be many things said about the Jets so far this season, but Gardner has been a bright spot even without his best game of the season Week 2. Gardner has played 96 percent of the Jets' defensive snaps so far. He's allowed three total catches on targets, good for a 33 percent completion percentage against him. Two came against the Bills, but he isn't the reason New York lost Week 2. There's an argument that he has actually been the brightest spot for the team through two weeks.

This article first appeared on New York Jets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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