FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Sauce Gardner wanted to set the tone early Tuesday as the Indianapolis Colts prepared to face the New England Patriots in a joint practice. So, before the Colts officially lined up against the reigning AFC champions, Gardner gathered his fellow defensive backs together and delivered a message.“We’re gonna walk in their s— and take over their s—,” Gardner said. “That’s what we came to do.”Mere minutes later, Gardner was already trending on X, not because he’d made a highlight-reel play but because he was on the opposite end of one. Gardner has been dominant throughout Colts training camp, but the reality is that when facing his own team, few receivers are on his level. Indy’s top wideout and Gardner’s college teammate at Cincinnati, Alec Pierce, remains sidelined as he recovers from left ankle and heel surgery. So, Tuesday presented a new challenge this summer for Gardner as he finally went up against a true No. 1 receiver: A.J. Brown.
A.J. Brown just DUSTED Sauce Gardner in 1v1s🔥
Patriots fans in attendance LOVE IT–@CLNSMedia pic.twitter.com/0g1GBXTSjf
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) August 11, 2026The first rep didn’t go as planned. Gardner slipped during a one-on-one drill against Brown, which led to Brown making an easy first-down catch. The play drew a roar from the home crowd at Gillette Stadium and quickly went viral on social media.“All this from a 1on1 rep?” Gardner responded a now-deleted X post.Well, yes.This is the life of a No. 1 cornerback, especially one whom the Colts traded two first-round picks to acquire. It didn’t matter, at least to the social media pundits, that Gardner had an overall solid day with a few pass breakups and sticky coverage on Brown and other Patriot receivers.Everything he does on the field will always be scrutinized, which from Gardner’s perspective, is a product of his own success. Perhaps if he hadn’t earned back-to-back first-team All-Pro nods to start his NFL career, the spotlight on his shortcomings — like that initial rep against Brown — wouldn’t be so bright.“At the beginning of my career, it was a little more tough,” Gardner said recently on The Fan Morning Show. “When you’re in college, like I said, everybody’s like, ‘He’s the underdog. He’s gonna be this. He’s gonna be that. And it’s like, all right, when I really become this and that, now it’s like certain positions shift because they didn’t really believe I was gonna be who they say I was gonna be.”Gardner added that the criticism “comes with the territory” of being a star, but as he’s gotten older and wiser, the bad plays don’t stick with him as much. His goal is to help get the last stop, and that’s exactly what the Colts defense did to cap Tuesday’s practice.During the final 11-on-11 session, each team’s starting and backup QBs had a chance to lead their units on a 50-yard, game-winning drive with 1:12 on the clock. New England’s Drake Maye was up first. The third-year pro led his team into the red zone, but his last pass was one he probably wishes he had back. Maye did not target Gardner, who was covering Brown, and instead tried to squeeze a throw into the back of the end zone for receiver DeMario Douglas. Colts free safety Cam Bynum read the pass perfectly and intercepted it in the end zone.“Me and (Maye) had a little staring contest for like two seconds,” Bynum said. “… He ended up throwing it, and (I) was able to go up and get the ball and finish the two-minute (drill). That’s one thing I pride myself on is in the two-minute drill; I gotta be the one to finish it.”
