Colts CB Sauce Gardner calls his effort and pursuit 'embarrassing' and wants to leave it in London

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner was his own worst critic on Wednesday.

His self-critique was even harsher than the outsiders he says he tunes out.

The two-time All-Pro repeatedly used the word “embarrassing” to describe the game tape he broke down after last weekend's 30-13 victory over Washington, acknowledging neither his effort nor his pursuit to the ball were good enough and promising it would never happen again.

“It was an embarrassing watch, and it was just, you know, hard to look back at that tape," Gardner said. “It was like my effort. When the ball is on the other side (of the field), it was like embarrassing, an embarrassing watch, an embarrassing feeling."

Gardner has heard plenty of assessments of his play since the New York Jets drafted him No. 4 overall in 2022 and again after the Jets sent him to the Colts for two first-round draft picks just before last year's trade deadline.

While injuries ruined his first season in Indy, this time the problems were too obvious to ignore.

Gardner gave up two big plays in the game and also drew a penalty on a third down stop that extended a Commanders drive. And while he owned up to the miscues on those plays, that was only part of the problem.

One example came on a play when defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Adetomiwa Adebawore raced down the field to catch a receiver from behind and Gardner realized the 282-pound Adebawore had passed him.

“That's the embarrassing feeling,” Gardner said. “It's not solely my effort if it's just me. It's seeing other guys, like on the defensive line, running past me. That's the crazy part, whereas if I'm running and Tommy's (Adebawore's) running, I can laugh and joke about it. But when I'm like loafing and then I see him slide past me, it's like ‘Bro, that’s embarrassing.' That's unacceptable."

Regardless of Gardner, the Colts defense has played better in the two weeks following a historically bad start. After two games, Indy (2-2) had allowed 74 points and 1,029 yards — the second most in league history behind only the 2016 Oakland Raiders.

But those stats came against two Super Bowl contenders, Baltimore and Kansas City, that are led by league MVP quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes.

By Week 2, Indy (2-2) had scrapped the experiment of having safety Camryn Bynum make the defensive play calls and turned over that responsibility to linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither. Baltimore took advantage of Bynum running back from deep pass coverage to get the Colts properly aligned by snapping the ball quickly.

The level of competition also has changed.

Houston (0-4) enters Week 5 as one of the league's five remaining winless teams. Washington (1-3) went to London already without 2024 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels because of a dislocated left elbow, then lost Daniels' replacement, Marcus Mariota, to a sprained medial collateral ligament in the first half.

So even though Indy is still allowing 392.3 yards per game and 6.18 yards per play, both 31st in the league, it has cut its yards rushing allowed to 131.0 and has allowed just three TDs and 30 points combined in the two wins heading into Sunday's game at Pittsburgh (2-2).

And Gardner isn't the only one on clean up duty this week.

Quarterback Daniel Jones' seven giveaways this season are the second most in the league, and he's had five in the Colts past two games. Even Jones knows that's an unsustainable combination.

“I think the defense has played well, and I told them last week they helped us out,” Jones said. “But I've certainly got to do a better job taking care of the ball if we want to continue to win games.”

For Gardner, though, it's all about effort, turning the page and getting a fresh start.

“We were playing in London and it just so happened that there were certain things I was putting on tape, like I said my effort in London," he said. "So let’s just leave that across the pond. We’re back here and that’s never going to happen again.”

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