Jets' Sauce Gardner ruled out vs. Eagles with concussion

There will be no Sauce on Sunday.

Jets All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner was ruled out of the game against the Eagles because of a concussion.

That means the Jets will face Philadelphia’s second-ranked offense and its two big-play receivers, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, without their two starting cornerbacks. A concussion also will keep D.J. Reed out for the second straight game.

When it rains, it doesn’t stop for the Jets. They lost Aaron Rodgers for the season in Week 1 because of an Achilles tendon tear. Their best offensive lineman, right tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker, suffered the same injury last Sunday in Denver and will miss the remainder of the season. The Jets also placed Pro Bowl special teams player Justin Hardee on injured reserve on Saturday after he had surgery on his hamstring. He’s slated to miss four to six weeks.

The loss of Gardner is huge and surprising heading into the Jets’ last game before their bye. He was on the injury report on Friday after missing practice with what the Jets said was an illness. He was listed as questionable, and Robert Saleh told reporters he expected Gardner to play. However, the Jets announced on Saturday afternoon that he had been downgraded to out.

Earlier Saturday, Gardner tweeted three “shake my head” emojis. After he was ruled out, he tweeted, “I feel perfectly fine. That's the crazy part about it.” This will be the first game he will miss in his career.

Gardner, the No. 4 pick in last year’s draft, has started 22 games and played 98% of the defensive snaps. As a rookie, he led the NFL with 20 passes defensed and had a 62.7 passer rating allowed when targeted. Gardner was named Defensive Rookie of the Year and made first-team All-Pro and the Pro Bowl.

Saleh also sounded optimistic during the week that Reed would be cleared, but that didn’t happen.

Making matters worse in the Jets’ secondary, backup cornerback Brandin Echols will miss his second straight game because of a hamstring injury. Hardee is the Jets’ sixth cornerback.

Bryce Hall will start for the second straight game. Nickel cornerback Michael Carter II also will play most if not all of the snaps. The Jets elevated defensive backs Craig James and Ke’Montae Hayes from the practice squad.

Brown is ninth in the NFL in catches (35) and fourth in receiving yards (541). Smith has 23 grabs for 290 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown.

This was going to be a huge challenge to begin with for the Jets. The Eagles (5-0) are one of two unbeaten teams in the NFL along with San Francisco. They’ve also beaten the Jets in each of the teams’ 12 matchups.

The reigning NFC champion Eagles are the most complete team the Jets will face to this point, and maybe all season.

Much of the talk this week was about the Jets having a chance to be 3-3 going into their bye, which would be an accomplishment after the devastation of Rodgers’ injury. This was before anyone knew they would be without Gardner.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush, three-and-three would be great because of how we started and what we went through,” receiver Garrett Wilson said. “I think it would be a good spot.”

The Eagles are a matchup nightmare overall. They can gash teams with their rushing attack, boast what likely is the NFL’s best offensive line and have D’Andre Swift and quarterback Jalen Hurts leading their running game. They’re second in rushing (164.0) and fifth in scoring (28.2 points). “If we don’t stop the run and control the edges, it’s going to be a long day for us,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said.

Philadelphia’s short-yardage “Tush Push” has punished teams. The Jets “have a plan for it,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said.

Hurts has run for four touchdowns and thrown for six. The Eagles average 252.4 passing yards per game, and that number could go up Sunday, given how banged up the Jets are in their secondary. Dallas Goedert is good in the intermediate, underneath game and Brown beats defenses all around the field. Smith, whom Ulbrich referred to as “the Ginsu knife that can just run by you,” is a deep threat.

“Goodness gracious,” Ulbrich said. “There is no secret why they went to the Super Bowl, why they’re 5-0. A tremendous team that is talented at all three levels. They’re an absolute pain in the butt.”

That type of pain has been the story of the Jets’ season, and it keeps getting worse.

The Eagles have the No. 2 rushing defense and one of the best defensive lines in football. But they will be without two of their top defensive players — rookie tackle Jalen Carter (ankle) and Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay (knee).

The Jets hope they can take advantage of that. The offense has shown signs of life lately with Zach Wilson leading the group. He has completed 72.3% of his passes for 444 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the last two games. His completion percentage and passer rating (94.6) are the best of any two-game stretch in his career.

“It’s a really good defense, but we got a really good offense,” Tyler Conklin said. “I think the last two weeks were really good building blocks for us. It’s a good test to go out here and play one of the best defenses in the NFL and try to come out of there with a win.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.