The New York Jets cornerback hails from Detroit
Talk about the New York Jets’ playoff-less streak — a much longer one just ended.
After 31 years without a playoff victory, the Detroit Lions finally won a postseason contest by defeating the Los Angeles Rams, 24-23, at Ford Field in Detroit.
One Jets player noticed and expressed his appreciation.
I like what the Lions doing for the city of Detroit. Detroit needed these type of positive vibes in the city for a long time🤟🏾💯
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) January 15, 2024
Sauce Gardner tweeted, “I like what the Lions [are] doing for the City of Detroit. Detroit needed these types of positive vibes in the city for a long time.”
Gardner hails from Detroit, something he spoke about at length during his draft process. He described growing up in difficult circumstances and begging his mother to attend football summer camps, promising to pay her back one day. He made good on that promise.
Gardner still has an affinity for his hometown team and is excited to see them succeed. One wonders if the Jets’ playoff-less streak crossed his mind as he tweeted about the Lions’ broken streak.
The Lions’ accomplishments this season are almost exactly what the Jets were seeking to do. After finishing 3-13-1 in 2021, they improved to 9-8 in 2022 and then 12-5 in 2023. Dan Campbell’s trajectory as head coach is the one Robert Saleh hoped to take with the Jets after being hired the same year. Alas, New York is stuck in reverse while Detroit will add a second home playoff game to their resumé next week.
Perhaps the transcendent No. 4 overall pick from 2022 will be able to emulate the elite No. 2 overall pick from that class (Aidan Hutchinson) in bringing his team back to the postseason.
