Sauce Gardner spent almost his entire Sunday shadowing DK Metcalf, a change for the young cornerback.
It was something the Jets defensive back has publicly said he would like to do, but it wasn’t implemented by the previous coaching staff, except on a situational basis.
Sunday was different.
“I liked it. I’m a competitor. Our coaching staff is pretty much full of guys who played in the league, so it’s no surprise,” Gardner said after the 34-32 loss to the Steelers at MetLife Stadium. “I feel like any time I was on him, he knows what it is. He was trying to be physical after the plays.”
The Steelers were able to scheme Metcalf away from Gardner a few times.
He really only had one catch when Gardner defended him, a key 11-yard reception on the Steelers’ game-winning field goal drive.
On a slant, Metcalf got inside position. Gardner broke up the pass, but Metcalf deflected it to himself twice.
It then caromed off teammate Jonnu Smith and landed in Metcalf’s arms while he lay on the turf.
“He had a catch on me. That’s a huge deal for me,” Gardner said. “When it came, it was towards the end of the game. No matter how it happened, that got them closer to field goal range.”
Allen Lazard was inactive.
The veteran wide receiver was not on the injury report all week, so he was a healthy scratch.
It came as somewhat of a surprise, given how few known quantities the Jets have at receiver behind star Garrett Wilson.
Josh Reynolds, Tyler Johnson (who was just elevated to the active roster from the practice squad Saturday) and rookie fourth-rounder Arian Smith comprise most of the unit outside of Wilson.
Wilson predictably dominated the targets, catching seven passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Reynolds and Johnson each had two catches, as did running back Breece Hall.
Lazard had a quiet summer while also battling a shoulder injury, failing to earn the No. 2 wide receiver job that was up for grabs for all of training camp.
And he struggled the past two seasons after signing a four-year, $44 million deal with the Jets — he recorded a combined 60 receptions for 841 yards and seven touchdowns.
There also is a new Jets regime in place that did not bring Lazard in.
Lazard was teammates and close with Aaron Rodgers on the Packers, which played a significant factor in the Jets signing him and providing Rodgers with a familiar weapon.
As expected, the Jets started Josh Myers at center and Joe Tippmann at right guard in the wake of Alijah Vera-Tucker’s season-ending triceps injury. … Running back/kick returner Kene Nwangwu suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter and didn’t return.
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