The Jets saved all their finger-pointing for the field.
Cornerback Sauce Gardner and safety Jalen Mills weren’t on the same page for a moment Sunday, and it cost the Jets a 39-yard completion on the biggest play of the biggest touchdown drive in their 28-27 loss to the Colts.
Protecting a five-point lead with less than three minutes to go, Gardner played a short out route and let receiver Alec Pierce streak open for a 39-yard reception as if he were expecting Mills to pick up Pierce.
After the play, Gardner gestured toward Mills, as if to say he should’ve been in that area, but neither offered any clarity as to what went wrong or who was to blame in the locker room.
“We’re going to talk about it more, but it’s a play that shouldn’t have happened,” Gardner said. “I didn’t point at him. We have to be better.”
SNY analyst Bart Scott — a former Jets defensive captain — quickly put the blame on Gardner, but it looked to some others more like Mills was late to rotate over.
“We have to watch the film, take the coaching and get better from there,” Mills said. “Any pointing or anything like that, I ain’t … we have to watch the film.”
Gardner said the Jets were in “palms coverage,” which is similar to Cover 2 and designed to force throws into the flat and take away big plays.
“What we say is, ‘Don’t point the fingers,’ ” Gardner said. “The outside world is going to do that, anyway. No matter what’s going on, they are going to point the fingers. We just have to continue to be close and love on one another.”
Mills, a nine-year veteran, was making his fifth straight start as he stayed in the lineup even as safety Chuck Clark returned from injured reserve.
The Jets benched two-year starter Tony Adams for Mills.
Gardner, a two-time First-Team All-Pro through as many seasons, has had a substandard season and didn’t do himself any favors when he missed a shoestring tackle and allowed a 33-yard gain leading to a touchdown in the first quarter.
But all would’ve been forgotten if the Jets stopped the Colts on their game-winning 70-yard touchdown drive.
“I’ll always point the finger at myself first,” interim head coach and defensive play-caller Jeff Ulbrich said. “And believe me, there’s accountability from a player standpoint, too.”
Richardson powered his way into the end zone four plays after Pierce’s catch.
“We can’t give up deep balls in a situation like that where we know they have to drive the field, and we’re winning at that point,” Mills said. “I’ve been in situations where [games] are won like that and games are lost like that. It’s always a next-play mentality for me.”
Richardson entered the game as the least-accurate passer in the NFL (44.4 percent completion rate), but the Jets were aware that his ball placement improves on the deep throws.
Richardson is averaging 15.6 yards per completion.
“We’re not trying to drive routes [at the end],” Gardner said. “It’s not like Prevent to the point where everybody is playing deep. That’s not what was called. It was basically a soft zone because we knew they needed to get a touchdown.”
And a game-winning touchdown the Colts got.
