Sauce Gardner showed why the Colts traded for him vs Falcons

BERLIN — There was a moment on Sunday where Sauce Gardner made it all seem worth it.

Gardner, the blockbuster prize of the deadline, was thrown directly into the fire for the Colts against Atlanta, even though he’d only been given two days before flying across the ocean into a bowl-style atmosphere at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

There were moments that were shaky. One, in particular, left Gardner beside himself on the sideline, cursing himself for a slip.

But there was another play, one glorious play at a big moment in the game that showed exactly why Indianapolis traded two first-round picks and 2024 second-rounder Adonai Mitchell to the Jets.

“I was trying to score,” Gardner said. “I was already looking at the end zone. It was a great third down-play, but that’s one I’ve got to have, and that’s one that I will have next time.”

The Colts needed a play.

A frustrating performance left Indianapolis trailing 17-13, and Colts quarterback Daniel Jones had just made his biggest mistake of the game, letting James Pearce swipe the ball out of his hand for a fumble near midfield.

An Atlanta touchdown could give the Falcons control of the game, and on third-and-8, the Colts sent Gardner out to the offense’s left side.

Against three wide receivers.

Essentially alone.

Indianapolis slot Kenny Moore II was at the line of scrimmage, feigning a blitz, and there was little safety help outside of Camryn Bynum in the middle. Gardner had an enormous amount of ground to cover, and Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. knew it.

Gardner used his positioning against Penix.

“It’s crazy, I was trying to bait the quarterback,” Gardner said. “We brought some pressure, so I think everything played in my favor. I just gotta look the ball in and catch the ball first and not think about pick-sixing it. I feel like I did a pretty good job in terms of baiting him to throw the ball where I wanted him to throw the ball.”

Gardner hung back for a beat, then attacked, knocking the ball away from Falcons wide receiver Drake London to force a punt, just three plays after Jones’ fumble.

The instincts, the athleticism, it was all on display.

Along with the preparation.

“He just elevated the entire room,” Moore said. “It’s impressive how he was able to adjust to everything that we had going into the game plan. We didn’t slow up at all trying to communicate. … It was great by him because his first walk through of the week, he was like, don’t slow up for me, I want to be able to catch up with y’all.”

Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is known for building elaborate plans, designed to bait quarterbacks into making mistakes.

And there were times it seemed Anarumo’s plan was hurting the Colts on Sunday. Gardner lined up against London most of the time, but the Falcons created three big plays for London by shifting him into the slot, giving an elite deep threat an easy matchup against Indianapolis linebacker Germaine Pratt.

Gardner probably should have been on London even when he went to the bench.

“I mean, man, I’m going to be honest; it was like a tough week for me, like mentally, just trying to learn all the plays,” Gardner said. “I started watching tape on Cleveland, then already had to switch and watch tape on Atlanta, and that’s besides having to hurry up and fly to Indy and then hurry up and fly to Berlin.”

Gardner likely will never be a dominant tackler, and there were times on Sunday that his lack of physicality at the tackle point was evident.

He also slipped at a critical time.

Moments after Tyler Allgeier scored the go-ahead touchdown to give Atlanta a 23-22 lead in the final two minutes, the Falcons sent London to the left against Gardner, intent on throwing him the fade.

Gardner slipped.

London made the catch.

The new Colts cornerback, still looking for his first win in the NFL this season after missing New York’s upset over the Bengals with a concussion, thought he’d cost his new team the game.

“I was sick after that,” Gardner said. “Then our field goal kicker, he made the field goal — my bad, I’m still learning names and stuff like that — he made the field goal and I was like, ‘That’s on me, D; that was supposed to be the game-winner right there, not just to tie the game up.’ So I made sure I’m not going to slip no more, and coverage got real sticky for us to get the ball back to our offense.”

Penix did not complete a pass in overtime, holding onto the ball long enough for Zaire Franklin to get home on a winding stunt.

For the first time this season, Gardner is a winner, headed into his second bye week of the season intent on moving to his new team.

“About 99% of my clothes are in Jersey still, so I’ve definitely got to make something happen with that because I’m not trying to be wearing the same stuff,” Gardner said. “That was the first time that I’ve been in a locker room that electric this year after a game, because that was my first win I’ve been a part of this year.”

And as much as he thought he might have blown it, Gardner made a key play to get Indianapolis to that point.

The Colts hope there are many more to come.

Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.