Lost in the Sauce of Gardner’s accusations that Mac Jones hit him in the ‘private parts’ on Sunday is the fact that the Patriots won a football game this weekend. But nonetheless, Mac Jones has to answer to it.
For those unfamiliar, following New England’s 15-10 win on Sunday against the Jets, cornerback Sauce Gardner told the New York media that Jones hit him with a low blow:
“He reached out to me to get me to help him up,” Gardner explained. “I just moved his hand out of the way. He got up and then came up to me like ‘Good job.’ While he was saying that, he hit me in my private parts. I didn’t react like I really wanted to. I definitely wasn’t expecting that. First time for everything I guess... He’s trying to prevent me from having kids in the future.”
jones and mego: mac jones joins the show following the patriots win vs. jets
The NFL is reportedly looking into the incident.
Jones denied any wrongdoing following Sunday’s game, and was asked again about the incident during his appearance with WEEI’s Jones and Mego on Monday:
“Sauce is one of the best corners in the NFL. I have a lot of respect for him. On that play, nothing was intentional. I just got up and went back to the huddle, and that’s it.”
Jones was then asked to clarify what actually happened:
“It’s football,” he answered. “Just trying to get up and go back to the huddle. And like I just said, nothing there.”
This isn’t the first time Jones has been accused of a ‘dirty’ play during his time in the NFL. In Week 9 of his rookie season, he grabbed Panthers defensive end Brian Burns’ ankle and rolled up on it while making a tackle, and in 2022 he a) was accused of sliding foot first into Bears safety Jaquan Brisker and b) dove at the legs of Bengals cornerback Eli Apple on a block attempt. Jones was fined for the Apple incident.
The quarterback was asked on Monday on WEEI if he thinks he’s misunderstood:
“Not really,” he said. “I just try to focus on what I can control and that’s coming to work every day and working hard. Just trying to work as hard as I can and do the best I can. That’s all you can ask for.”
Jones was then asked about his growing reputation across the NFL, and if it’s incorrect:
“Like I said, I can’t control that stuff. I try to be really competitive and go out there and be a good teammate and compete, and come to work every day and work hard and put a lot of hours into it. I definitely care about football a lot and this game means a lot to me and it means a lot to a lot of other guys that I play with so I hope that they can see that.”
Jones also spoke about the Patriots' win versus the Jets, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and more on Monday’s edition of Jones and Mego. You can listen to the full interview here.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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