The New York Jets did not have the end of the season that they would have hoped for after a 7-4 start to the season, capped off with their sixth straight loss in Week 18 to finish 7-10 on the year.
New York missed out on the playoffs for an 11th straight season, which is the longest active playoff drought amongst NFL teams.
While many Jets fans may be pessimistic about their future with an uncertain quarterback situation moving forward, standout rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner believes that their playoff drought will be coming to an end next season.
Gardner addressed the media after Sunday’s loss, making the bold prediction that this time next year the Jets will be a playoff team.
“Like I said last week, we want to win,” said Gardner via SNY Jets on Twitter. “It is extremely frustrating, but we can’t dwell on the past. We have to attack this offseason. This time next year we’re going to be in the playoffs. We have the people in the locker room right now to do it.”
Sauce Gardner says they can't dwell on the past and need to gear up for next season:
"This time next year we're gonna be in the playoffs, for sure" pic.twitter.com/s72vvg9nDG
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) January 8, 2023
Sauce Gardner has been one of the more dominant cornerbacks in football this year in just his rookie season, currently sitting as the overwhelming favorite to win this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
The Jets’ problems were certainly not on the defensive side of the ball, allowing the third-lowest yards per game defensively this season.
If Gardner’s prediction is going to come through, they will need to figure out their quarterback situation next season.
It’s unclear at this point whether or not the Jets will let second-year quarterback Zach Wilson be their starter again next season, but he certainly left a lot to be desired when he did start for the team this year.
