Jets Fans Rip Sauce Gardner For Being 'Too Winded' To Play In Crucial Drive

New York Jets fans are still beside themselves Tuesday morning after a terrible performance during Monday night's 32-19 season opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

What was supposed to be the new launch of the Aaron Rodgers Jets era instead turned into a pitiful performance as the 49ers picked apart the Jets defensive gameplan and were able to create massive holes for their running backs and wide receivers to run through as New York gave up a record eight scoring possessions in a row.

But one question many fans have on their minds is - what happened to Sauce Gardner? The dominant cornerback would end up sitting out in the second quarter as 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy led the Niners down the field with near-flawless execution. Jets fans immediately took to social media to wonder what happened to Sauce - was he hurt? And if not, why the heck wasn't he in the game to stop Purdy from going six for six during that drive? The situation was so bizarre that even ESPN's Lisa Salters went to get answers and reported that Gardner was healthy and it was not injury-related.

TOO TIRED DURING THE FIRST GAME?

Turns out, Sauce says that he was "catching his breath.," which has fans livid at both him and head coach Robert Saleh's puzzling decision to have Sauce on the sideline during that run - but is Gardner telling the truth or was there something more to his absence?

"Sauce, what happened in the second quarter when you were out?" a reporter asked.

After a hesitant "Uhh…" Sauce responded, "It was a tackle that I made and I just had to get my wind back and I just had to shake it," and when asked if it was anything more than that, Gardner shook his head and said "no." 

The fact that Gardner said that he needed NINE plays to catch his breath seemed a bit absurd to many Jets fans as they sounded off on socials. 

Some said that this is what happens when stars sit during the preseason and don't see a lot of snaps, while others argued that Gardner should have stepped up in what turned out to be a key turning point in the game as the Niners would score once again while ESPN cameras continued to show Sauce on the sideline holding his helmet.

Others thought that perhaps Saleh was punishing Gardner for missing some tackles prior to his exit.

Gardner would ultimately return right before the half but the damage was already done as the Niners led 16-7 and never looked back as they exposed the Jets and head coach Robert Saleh as being outmatched and apparently too winded and exhausted to compete.

Last night the organization frustratingly proved once again that the Jets, are going to Jet.