Jets HC Robert Saleh refuses to comment on controversial penalty on Sauce Gardner

Robert Saleh is keeping his lips sealed following the controversial ending between the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs.

With the game on the line, Jets’ All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner was called for a questionable defensive holding penalty after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a pass intercepted by Michael Carter, turning a play that looked like it would give the Jets the ball back with a chance to win into one that would sustain Kansas City’s drive and serve as the last of the game.

Gardner was visibly upset, and Saleh was enraged for the remainder of the game. He even had a penalty called on him, when he gave the ref a piece of his mind before the final whistle.

Evidently, Saleh wasn’t looking to get fined any further. During his post-game press conference, he kept mum with the media.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” Saleh said, before confirming it was the holding call he was upset about when he was flagged at the end of the game.

Moreover, there’s no denying that the penalty call was controversial, as Gardner made a majority of his contact with Mahomes’ intended target, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, before the ball was thrown.

Jets linebacker CJ Mosley applied pressure on Mahomes, who threw the pass into double coverage, but unfortunately, New York was not rewarded for their defensive effort.

Chris Collinsworth served as the analyst in the booth for the game and gave his perspective following the play on how the referees had been calling the game in relation to the penalty in question during the game’s waning minutes. 

“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,” Collinsworth said on the broadcast.

While the holding call helped negate what would’ve been a monstrous upset, the Jets finished Sunday’s game feeling good about themselves. Quarterback Zach Wilson finally looked like the No 2 overall pick, as he delivered his best outing of the season thus far following the injury to Aaron Rodgers.

Wilson completed 71.8% of his passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He out-played Mahomes, who had an uncharacteristically bad game after the first quarter, throwing some terrible interceptions.

Perhaps all hope isn’t lost for the Jets, as they’ll face the Denver Broncos in Week 5. While the missed opportunity against the Chiefs sting, Robert Saleh and company will turn the page and move on.

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this article.