Colts are learning the hard way about having a Sauce Gardner-led defense

Cutting ties with Sauce Gardner was a gut punch for New York Jets fans, considering the fact that he was arguably the franchise's best player for the first three years of his career. But when the Jets started the 2025 season 1-7, changes had to be made.

Despite his individual skills as a cover corner, the fact of the matter was that the Jets defense was bad with him (and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, for that matter) as their cornerstone players. It made moving on from both players a bit more palatable.

So far through 2026, the Jets have been proven right about their Gardner calculation, and the Indianapolis Colts are learning the hard way. Their defense has been historically dreadful throughout the first two games of the season.

The Colts have given up 1,029 yards of total offense through the first two games of the season, the second most in NFL history. It's six yards short of the mark the Oakland Raiders set in 2016, putting Indianapolis in rare territory.

New York Jets may feel even more vindicated after Sauce Gardner trade

The Colts clearly felt like they were one piece away when they traded for Gardner last season. A team doesn't trade away two first-round picks and a young wide receiver with potential if they don't feel good about their Super Bowl chances.

Instead, things couldn't have gone worse for Indianapolis since making that blockbuster deal. They're 1-11 since the November 2025 trade deadline, and that one win came overseas in Germany, meaning the Colts haven't recorded a domestic victory since the Gardner trade.

Is it just some of the worst luck in NFL history, or is there an actual correlation between Gardner himself and losing football?

Sauce Gardner's individual performance leaves a lot to be desired

Gardner is a very accomplished NFL player, with twofirst-team All-Pro selections and two Pro Bowls under his belt. But it's fair to question if his best play is behind him.

Through the first two games of the 2026 season, Gardner has been one of the league's worst cornerbacks. According to Pro Football Focus, he's recorded an overall grade of 56.1, ranking 63rd out of 96 qualified cornerbacks.

His coverage grade of 62.7 ranks 44th, while his run-defense grade of 30.7 ranks 91st. No one should believe that Gardner is actually that bad a player, but you can't contest that he has underperformed at the start of the 2026 season.

Colts fans are starting to learn the hard way that while Gardner can be a shutdown defender in coverage, he's not necessarily going to make your defense all that much better.

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