The Indianapolis Colts are officially out of the playoff picture, and the couch just got more crowded and Sauce Gardner? He’s a hot soup!
As soon as the elimination became official, critics came out like clockwork. Fingers were pointed. Tweets were fired. Hot takes were microwaved. And somehow, Sauce Gardner’s name ended up in the mix, because when a team loses, everyone must suffer. That is the internet rule.
Sauce was not having it.
Instead of staying quiet and working extra hard, Sauce hopped online and let critics know exactly how he felt but later had to chicken out and delete his tweet.
After the Colts’ 23-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Gardner boasted on social media that he only has 32 targets this season, although he stopped short of citing where he found this information. Regardless, his point was that opposing quarterbacks had grown reluctant to throw in his direction, which isn’t a preposterous theory for a third-year player who’s already earned All-Pro honors twice.
‘[I] only have 32 targets,’ he wrote. ‘[There] are [zero cornerbacks] that only had 32 targets thru 600+ snaps. [I] only had 22 targets thru 7 games. I DO NOT GET TARGETED AS MUCH AS 99.8% OF OTHER [cornerbacks] in the league.. and only like 50% of those [passes] got completed.’
Gardner went on to boast that he’s only allowed two touchdowns this season, one of which he blamed on a ‘busted coverage’ during his time with the struggling Jets.
‘ONLY 208 yards allowed all year…some WRs go for 100+ in one game,’ he continued, adding: ‘am i missing something?’
He then offered his ‘opinion’ that an elite cornerback who can ‘take away half the field’ from opposing offenses is ‘equivalent to having a nice QB.’
Was it petty? Maybe. Was it entertaining? Absolutely. Sauce Gardner reminded everyone that athletes are human, pride exists, and playoff eliminations don’t come with mute buttons.
In the end, the Colts are home early, Sauce is home early too. But one thing is clear, his mouth is still in midseason form.
And if next year goes better, expect receipts. Lots of receipts.
