EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner accused New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones of a not-so nice thing -- hitting him in the "private parts" -- during New York's 15-10 loss Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
It happened on a fourth-quarter sneak by Jones, who got stuffed by safety Jordan Whitehead and slammed down by linebacker C.J. Mosley. After the play, Gardner said Jones bumped into him.
The replay showed Gardner was clearly angered by something that happened, and he pushed Jones to the ground and appeared to be in pain.
"He had got tackled," Gardner said. "He reached his hand up to try to, like, get me to help him up. And I just moved his hand out of the way. Then, when he gets up [and] he just comes up to me like, 'Good job.' But while he said that ... he hit me in my private parts. You know what I'm saying?"
Gardner had a small smile as he recounted the incident.
"I definitely wasn't expecting that," Gardner said. "First time for everything, I guess."
Afterward, Jones, who has been accused in the past of cheap shots, said he was getting up after a hard tackle on a QB sneak and was saying "good job" to the defense. He said the area where he made contact with Gardner was unintentional.
No penalties were called on the play.
"Man, my stomach hurt a little bit, you know what I mean?" Gardner said, laughing. "I don't even know what to say. I do got to ice up. He's trying to keep me from having kids in the future. He's trippin'."
