Sauce Gardner is laughing again.
The Jets cornerback said he's having fun on the field again after trying to do too much earlier this season.
Gardner bounced back from some shaky games and played his best football over the past two games.
“For some reason, my mentality just wasn't there. It just wasn't there. That was it,” Gardner told the Post on Wednesday. “It wasn't very fun. I was playing like I had to make every play. I had to create a play for other people. I played like I couldn't make mistakes. As I am, I'm always smiling and happy. When I'm smiling and happy, I'm having fun and always being positive.”
Gardner received little criticism his first two years and was named first-team All-Pro in each season.
However, this year he has been criticized for missed tackles and penalties, and has not played as well as he did in his first two seasons.
The 24-year-old was influenced by what he saw on social media and ultimately deleted his X account in an attempt to escape the negativity.
But Gardner said he became his own harshest critic after he made a mistake.
“Every time I see a missed tackle or something like that, it really keeps me up at night, whether someone says something or not,” Gardner said. “That's just who I am. I want to finish every single play. Some people might say I'm going to make a mistake, but that's not my thought process. If someone throws me the ball, , I end up staying awake for a while before I go to bed at night.”
These days, Gardner no longer has to worry about sleepless nights.
He's been playing his best football in the last two games against the Seahawks and Jaguars (he missed the game against the Dolphins with a hamstring injury).
In those two games, Gardner had no missed tackles, compared to 10 missed tackles earlier this season.
Against the Seahawks, he matched up with DK Metcalf for most of the day, gaining 28 yards on five targets and giving up two receptions.
Last week in Jacksonville, he had six targets for nine yards and allowed just one reception, although he was called for two penalties.
He intercepted Mac Jones to end the game, Gardner's first interception in two years.
“The last two games have been his best two games of the season in my opinion,” interim manager Jeff Ulbrich said. “I just saw a rejuvenated spirit and focus. As far as the way he's been preparing, that's a sauce that we all love. And it really paid off two-fold.” [good] It's a back-to-back match, so we have to keep it going. ”
Gardner said he started to feel clearer during his bye week last month.
Like everyone around him on the Jets, Gardner had high hopes for this season, but now they are facing a third straight losing season.
“The bye week helped me clear my mind and really forced me to think about how I can get better,” Gardner said. “Everything happened so fast. Next thing you know, boom, we're two years old or so.”
The firing of coach Robert Saleh after five games also affected Coach Gardner, who is close to Saleh.
“It definitely influenced me. Like I said, they helped change my life,” Gardner said of Saleh and former GM Joe Douglas. “It also brought more pressure. It literally got to the point where people were like, we have another head coach, we can't afford to make mistakes. That's just how everyone was playing. “That's not good. A player who feels like I have to make this play, this play, this play, instead of just letting him do his job because I trust the guy next to me to do his job. If there is, that's a problem.”
Gardner won't be an All-Pro this year or receive the same honor as he did his first two years, but he has three more games to show what kind of player he is.
Expect to see his smile.
