This will make Jets’ fans heads hurt.
Late Saturday afternoon, the team ruled star cornerback Sauce Gardner out of their game with the Eagles on Sunday with a concussion.
He joins fellow starting cornerback D.J. Reed as a spectator for this game, as Reed also has a concussion.
That leaves the Jets without their top two cornerbacks against the explosive Philadelphia offense led by quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
This is a recipe for disaster for the Jets (2-3), who will enter the game hoping to show they remain contenders.
Instead, they will now be without two of their top defenders. It is unclear exactly what happened with Gardner.
He did not practice Friday because of what the Jets called an illness.
He was listed as questionable on the injury report.
Sauce Gardner has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Eagles. APJust before 5 p.m. on Saturday, the Jets announced that Gardner had been downgraded to out for the game.
With Gardner and Reed out, the Jets’ starting corners likely will be Bryce Hall and Craig James, who was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday.
Hall started last week in Denver with Reed out and James played one snap when Gardner was briefly banged up.
The Eagles come to MetLife Stadium on Sunday as the defending NFC champions and at 5-0 this season.
Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner looks on at practice in Florham Park, NJ. Bill Kostroun/New York PostThey have the No. 2 offense in the NFL and the No. 10 defense.
They have a roster littered with star players and are one of the best teams in the NFL.
The Jets are about to find out how they measure up against one of the top teams in the league.
“With a team like this, real Super Bowl contenders, they’ve been there,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “The recognition we’re trying to get, the level we’re trying to get at, the things we’re trying to accomplish, we don’t do that without beating a team like this. We know it won’t be easy. It’s going to be a tough game. This is the way we want it. We want to be able to play against these types of teams. If we do make it to where we want to, this is the type of football team we’re going to see on the other side.”
The Jets are 0-12 all time against the Eagles dating back to 1973.
It is a statistical oddity and one that will probably get plenty of attention on the broadcast but something that really has nothing to do with the current players.
What will be relevant on Sunday is just how talented the Eagles are and whether the Jets can string together two wins in a row for the first time in a calendar year.
The bye week comes after this one for the Jets.
The first six weeks have been filled with plenty of twists and turns, the latest coming Saturday with Gardner being ruled out.
