Sauce Gardner has a story, and he's sticking to it.
The New York Jets cornerback claimed that New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones hit him in his "private parts" after a QB sneak play in Sunday's game at MetLife Stadium.
"I definitely wasn’t expecting that," Gardner said after the Patriots' 15-10 win over New York. "First time for everything I guess. ... He’s trying to prevent me from having kids in the future."
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The NFL is "looking into" Gardner's claim that Jones gave him a low blow, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported Monday. And on Monday afternoon, Gardner submitted evidence for his claim in the form of a grainy video of the incident posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
"Posting this so I don't get fined lol," Gardner wrote in the caption.
It's still hard to tell in that video what actually happened between Jones and Gardner, but whatever Jones did clearly incensed the young Jets cornerback, who abruptly shoved the Patriots QB to the turf.
For his part, Jones denied Gardner's allegations.
"Um, no," Jones said when asked if he hit Gardner below the belt. "Just trying to get the first down. … Definitely a physical play. A lot of guys are in there. It's kind of like the famous quarterback sneak that everybody does, and all the guys from both teams are in there, so it can get pretty physical."
Deserved or not, Jones does have a reputation of being a "dirty" player thanks to a pair of incidents in his first two seasons. In 2021, Carolina Panthers defensive end Brian Burns accused Jones of intentionally twisting his ankle after throwing an interception, while Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker claimed Jones purposely kicked him during their Week 7 matchup last season.
So, Jones may not have the benefit of the doubt here. Whether the league sides with the Jets cornerback or the Patriots QB remains to be seen, however.