Tyreek Hill details exactly how he 'saved' Sauce Gardner's reputation in 34-13 beatdown
Tyreek Hill’s dominance continued during the Miami Dolphins’ Black Friday game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. The eight-year veteran caught nine passes for 102 yards and a touchdown to help improve their record to 8-3.
However, the All-Pro wideout could have had better numbers if he hadn’t dropped a touchdown pass while being covered by All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. After the game, the one-time Super Bowl champion playfully said that he did that to save Gardner’s reputation.
Tyreek Hill did Sauce Gardner a favor
In a recent It Needed to Be Said podcast episode, Tyreek Hill discussed that dropped end zone pass against Gardner. This season’s receiving yards leader told Julius Collins:
“It doesn't matter if he's holding me or has his hand around my neck. I got to catch the ball. That's got to be my mindset, to dominate each and every moment of the game. And I saved his reputation right there, because if I were to catch that, I would've ruined him for the rest of the game.”
With 6:32 left in the opening quarter, the Dolphins went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Jets’ four-yard line.
After receiving the snap from a shotgun, Tua Tagovailoa quickly threw the ball to Hill, who was a step faster than Sauce Gardner. The cornerback’s effort forced the wide receiver not to complete the catch.
Securing that ball could have given Tyreek Hill his second multi-touchdown game this season. He had two touchdowns for 215 yards in their season-opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite that dropped reception, Hill still leads the league with 1,324 yards and 10 touchdowns.
However, in the same video, Hill had nothing but appreciation and respect for Gardner. The seven-time Pro Bowler said:
“I had a great release, and I kinda got lazy. You can't get lazy against great players 'cause Sauce is a real good player. He's a young player, but he's a really good player, and he plays hard. And he plays the sport the right way, and it's a beautiful thing, man.”
Can Tyreek Hill reach 2,000 receiving yards?
Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson holds the record for most receiving yards in a season, with 1,964. Therefore, no wideout has ever reached 2,000 in a year. Tyreek Hill has a chance to be the first, but it would take some effort.
He's 676 yards away from the feat with six games left in the regular season. Barring an injury, he needs an average of 113 receiving yards per game to enter the record books. That quest will continue in Week 13 when the Dolphins visit the Washington Commanders.