INDIANAPOLIS - Sauce Gardner has heard enough noise by now to know how it works.
A bad stretch turns into a stat. A stat turns into a graphic. And once NBC put one of those graphics on the screen late in the Colts’ overtime loss at Kansas City, Gardner could only laugh when the whole thing came back to him.
With about five minutes left in regulation, NBC highlighted the cornerback. Then came the punch line:
Has not won an NFL game in the United States since December 15, 2024 (644 days).
Gardner’s reaction on Wednesday was pure resignation.
“It’s just one of those things where I’m used to it now,” he said.
The first person to point it out to him was Justin Walley.
“He was like, ‘Hey, Sauce, why did I see on TV they made this stat for you not winning in the States?’
“I’m like, ‘Bro, they’ll do anything. They’ll say anything.
I’m used to it now. I just carry it’.”
The numbers are hard to dodge. Gardner is 1-3 with the Colts since the Nov. 4 blockbuster trade from the New York Jets. His only win in Indy came in Berlin, where the Colts beat the Atlanta Falcons 31-26 in overtime.
Before the trade, he had gone 0-7 with the Jets. NBC’s graphic pointed to his last victory on American soil. In his last 25 games, Gardner has been part of only three wins, and he is 18-43 for his career.
That kind of spotlight follows a player who came into the league with a huge reputation. Gardner was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2023, made first-team All-Pro in his first two seasons with the Jets and arrived in Indianapolis in a deal that cost the Colts two first-round picks and wide receiver AD Mitchell.
He says the criticism no longer gets to him. Mostly.
“I want to say last year,” Gardner said. “I’m talking about when it was fully, fully gone.”
But he added, “It was still a little bit there,” Gardner admitted.
He noticed it again during the Colts’ joint practice with the New England Patriots in August, when social media showed A.J. Brown apparently beating him in a one-on-one rep.
A.J. Brown just DUSTED Sauce Gardner in 1v1s.
Gardner slipped briefly on the rep and answered with a post of his own. That was the moment he says he settled into the reality of it all.
“Awright, it ain’t no winning.”
While Gardner absorbs the heat, he’s also taking on more of a leadership role in his first full season with the Colts. That matters especially for Walley, the 2025 third-round pick who has been pushed into the starting nickel spot after missing his rookie season with a knee injury.
Walley has played 107 of 148 defensive snaps, and he says the game is starting to slow down.
“Each game I feel like I’m getting better and better, more confident in each game and getting back to my true self,” Walley said.
Still, the production has been rough. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, quarterbacks are 12-of-13 for 204 yards with two touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 rating when Walley has been the closest defender. Pro Football Reference has it a little differently, but not much kinder: 11-of-12, 168 yards, one touchdown and a 146.5 passer rating.
The record is another blunt reminder.
“We’re 0-2,” Walley said, “so I haven’t played well enough. Whatever I’ve done, I’ve gotta step up to the next level.”
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo may also lean on Walley’s versatility. He works as the Colts’ nickel, but he can slide outside, which is his natural position, when Gardner or Charvarius Ward Sr. comes off the field.
“He’s just got to get more comfortable and get more reps, and he will at both,” Anarumo said.
And if Walley needs perspective, Gardner is right there.
“He’s mentally strong,” Gardner said. “Obviously there are certain plays he wished he could get back.
Sometimes, that’s how it is. You’re gonna lose some reps.
“The reality is you’ve got certain people who are going to be criticized more than others. I feel that way.
When I see it happen to Walley, I’m like, ‘Bro, I’ve been there. I’m still there’.”
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