The New York Jets were so close to upsetting the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. A crucial holding penalty on Sauce Gardner extended the drive and allowed the Chiefs to bleed the clock. After the game, Gardner had some strong words about the call.
New York Jets Sauce Gardner Was Not Happy About The Penalty
Here is the full quote from Gardner when he was asked about the call.
“The receiver ran into me, it was a collision, The same thing that was happening all game. They ain’t throw no flags. Pat threw the ball outside of the receiver, MC was there. He made the play and then the ref threw the flag. To me, personally, that’s like when you play basketball one-on-one and you go up to lay the ball up and you wait to see if you miss and then call the foul.
I can’t believe that, that was just crazy. I don’t even think they threw the ball my way, at me, the first three quarters. And then they started throwing checkdowns, and the shot they take to get going, they get bailed out by that. Fourth quarter, crunch time, I don’t even know what to say.”
The basketball analogy is a good one from Sauce. The referee threw the flag very late only after the ball was intercepted. After watching the play a couple of times, I guess there is something there but to me, it would be a non-controversial no-call.
Not The Only Penalty
The more egregious one was the obvious holding penalty that kept Jermaine Jones from rushing Patrick Mahomes on a 3rd and 22. The head referee is standing right there watching it and doesn’t call a thing. For the Gardner call, one could argue that the official is simply in a bad position and has to make a judgment call. That one was bad. Still, teams have to figure out how to overcome bad officiating week in and week out. It always is trickier when a call like this happens in a nationally televised game and I would expect that the NFL will take a look at this game and talk with the officials.
The New York Jets drop to 1-3. Sauce Gardner and the defense played great but could not make the stops when they needed it most. Zach Wilson looked better but made critical mistakes at bad times. The Jets have something to build on and hopefully, they will be able to recover and salvage this season.