The worst thing for the New York Jets was Sauce Gardner hyping up his first win of the 2025 season. Yes, he was traded to Indianapolis after the Jets got their first win of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he also didn’t play in that game so he didn’t take credit for it. That simple statement after helping the Indianapolis Colts bounce back after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers highlighted a dual reality.
For the Jets, Gardner needed just one game out of the depths of the Jets dysfunction to prove why he was a top pick in his draft and why the Indianapolis Colts spent so much draft capital to make sure they drastically improved their secondary. Gardner and the Colts are a match made in heaven it seems and it might be one of the final moves the Colts need to be serious contenders.
Gardner truly didn’t know how bad he had it in New York until he left. He didn’t know how good being on a good team was until he landed in Indianapolis. The last two seasons, Gardner was fighting bust allegations. Then in his Colts debut, he ended up being the third-highest graded defender, per Pro Football Focus ($). This is just the beginning of Gardner’s impact in Indianapolis.
Sauce Gardner’s big debut proves the New York Jets are cursed
What makes Gardner’s debut so significant is that this is the player the Jets always thought they were going to get. For one season, they got Gardner that looked like he was going to have a career trajectory similar to Pat Surtain II’s in Denver. He hasn’t lived up to that hype yet, but with a new team, he already looks like an inspired defensive back.
Against Drake London, who mind you was fresh off a three-touchdown performance last time out, Gardner held London to two catches and 26 yards on four targets. This is the type of corner the Colts needed to keep themselves from getting torched in the secondary. It’s why they paid big money for Gardner.
Drake London caught 2 of his 4 targets for 26 yards, as well as a two-point conversion, across 17 matchups against Sauce Gardner, per @NextGenStats.
— Noah Compton (@nerlens_) November 9, 2025
Against all other #Colts defenders, London caught all 4 of his targets for 78 yards and a TD.
First impressions are everything and Gardner’s first impression with his new team can help them breathe easy for spending so much to lure him from the Jets. The next step for him is to build on this. This can’t be a one off performance. The Colts need him to be the lockdown corner on this defense and Sunday was proof Gardner still has a lot of potential.
The New York Jets just might be cursed
Sam Darnold had to leave New York to reach NFL stardom after he was a top five pick in the NFL Draft and now Gardner had to depart to presumably reach his own level of stardom. It makes you wonder if the New York Jets are actually cursed. The jury is still out on whether Quinnen Williams will continue that trend. That said, if former Jets players have to get out of New York in order to reach All-pro level, well the Jets may never end their woes.
The way Gardner talked about winning this season with the Colts, he sounds like a player that’s finally enjoying football again. It’s a win-win situation for everybody. The Jets got a massive haul, the Colts got a lockdown cornerback and Gardner can prove he’s still a solid defensive back in the NFL.
Gardner is still waiting to get his first interception since last season, which is his only one since his rookie season in 2022. Sunday’s game in Germany was everything both sides needed. Gardner needed to show he’s still the No. 1 cornerback on a roster and the Colts needed to know they didn’t waste their money.
All it took was a move out of New York for the old Gardner to resurface. I’m sure New York is desperate to turn things around but as they watch their former players go on to succeed after leaving them, it will continue to haunt them that the franchise that drafted them couldn’t develop them and fully reap the benefits.