Detroit's Sauce Gardner kept insisting it was just another game. The Jets cornerback and likely Defensive Rookie of the Year didn't want to make last week's clash with the Lions personal. But he couldn't help it.
"The day before the game when I had people from my hometown calling me and stuff like that, that made it kind of personal. So I was just saying, I was going to get my first pick six against the Lions, I was going to do this, I was going to do that," Gardner told reporters Monday after the Lions had escaped MetLife Stadium with a 20-17 win.
It wasn't the only thing Gardner took personally. While it's the ultimate sign of respect for a cornerback, he objected to the Lions avoiding him the entire game. Jared Goff never threw a pass Gardner's way, never challenged him, never gave him the opportunity he was seeking to get his hands on the ball.
"I wasn’t targeted yesterday, not once," Gardner said. "I don’t know what their mentality is or mindset is when they go up against us, but yesterday, wasn’t targeted and I take that kind of personally because I actually wanted to make a bigger and a better impact on the game, especially going against my hometown team."
Gardner did chip in four tackles, but it was the first time this season that he didn't have a single target in coverage. His previous low was two, which had come the week prior against the Bills.
The fourth overall pick, a product of Cincinnati and MLK High, has quickly established himself as one of the top cover corners in the NFL. He leads the league with 16 passes defended and has held quarterbacks to a 48.4 passer rating in coverage. The Lions, smartly, wanted no part of him.
"Definitely it is a huge sign of respect, but I was just saying that because if I catch the ball and I get a pick six, I could help my team put some points on the board or just catch an interception and flip the field, something to get us some points," Gardner said.
Instead, the ball never came his way. Detroit wasn't going to play into his hands.
Listen live to 97.1 The Ticket via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker