![Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner was called for a controversial defensive holding call against the Chiefs and ripped the ruling after the game. [Photo Credit: NBC]](https://cdn1.thecomeback.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-02-010757-e1696223325343-795x447.png)
A controversial defensive holding call nullified an interception late in Sunday night’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets. Shortly after the game, the man penalized weighed in on the call.
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes threw deep into double coverage on a third-and-20, with Marquez Valdes-Scantling as his intended receiver. The pass was intercepted by New York’s Michael Carter. But any elation the Jets had at the interception was quickly wiped out by a penalty called against Sauce Gardner. The officials ruled that before the ball was thrown, Gardner held Valdes-Scantling.
Gardner did not agree with the call at the time. After the game, his outlook had not changed.
In addition to disagreeing with the call itself, he objected to how late the flag was thrown, likening it to someone calling a foul in a one-on-one basketball game after the shot is missed.
“The receiver ran into me, there was a collision, same thing that was happening all game, & they threw no flags. Pat threw the ball outside the receiver, MC was there, he made the play, then the ref threw the flag. Me personally, that’s like when you play basketball 1-on-1 & you go up to lay the ball up & you wait to see you miss, & then say foul. I can’t believe that. I don’t even know what to say.”
Sauce Gardner:
"Pat threw the ball outside of the receiver. MC was there, he made the play, then the ref threw the flag. That’s like when you play basketball 1-on-1 & you go up to lay the ball up & you wait to see you miss, & then say foul."pic.twitter.com/0ttYZjC3Qm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 2, 2023
Looking at the call and when the flag was thrown, it’s easy to see why Gardner was upset.
"Um. We've seen a lot of contact downfield tonight. We have seen a very physical approach out of the New York Jets. And we've seen a lot more than THAT, that wasn't called."- Cris Collinsworth on the Jets being called for defensive holding on the Chiefs' 3rd-and-20 #SNF pic.twitter.com/K5gerpQmRb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 2, 2023
[Photo Credit: NBC]
