Patriots' Mac Jones: I'm Focused on Cowboys amid Talk of Cheap Shot on Sauce Gardner

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones on Wednesday deflected questions about allegedly hitting New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner in the groin during a 15-10 Week 3 win.

"Just really focused on the Cowboys, trying to prepare for a good defense. That's my focus—trying to control the controllables," Jones said, per ESPN's Mike Reiss. "I'm looking forward to just building this week. We have practice today. We have practice tomorrow and Friday. [Then a] game in a great stadium with a great football culture. So that's what I'm kind of looking forward to."

Gardner claimed that Jones hit him in his "private parts" after a quarterback sneak during Sunday's game at MetLife Stadium.

"I definitely wasn't expecting that," Gardner told reporters after New England's first win of the 2023 season. "First time for everything I guess. ... He's trying to prevent me from having kids in the future."

The NFL is looking into the incident, according to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, and Gardner submitted video evidence via X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, writing "Posting this so I don't get fined lol."

The video is unclear, but Jones clearly did enough to enrage Gardner after the play and the Jets cornerback shoved him to the turf.

Jones previously denied the allegations while meeting with reporters this week.

"Um, no," Jones said when asked if he hit Gardner below the belt. "Just trying to get the first down. ... Definitely a physical play. A lot of guys are in there. It's kind of like the famous quarterback sneak that everybody does, and all the guys from both teams are in there, so it can get pretty physical."

Jones has developed a reputation for being a "dirty player" following incidents that occurred during his first two seasons with the Patriots.

In 2021, Carolina Panthers defensive end Brian Burns accused the quarterback of twisting his ankle after an interception.

"It would be nice to have an apology, but it's not gonna happen," Burns said. "... I would just like to play them again. And I wish all my fellow D-end brothers happy hunting."

Last season, Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker accused Jones of purposely kicking him after he ran for an eight-yard gain before sliding and kicking his leg into the air, hitting Brisker.

"Looking back, when he first slid, he had tried to trip me, so I feel like the second time was intentional," Brisker said. "After looking back at the film, it looked intentional. But after the game, he came up to me and apologized. But I'll say, the first two times, it looked very intentional during those slides."

While players continue to spark questions about Jones' intentions on certain plays, his Patriots teammates have deflected questions about whether or not he's a dirty player while meeting with reporters this week.

"Look, I haven't really looked at it that much. I was in the middle of a dogpile and had about 12 other guys laying on top of us after the QB sneak, so I didn't really see anything," center David Andrews said. "So you can ask Mac about that."

The Patriots, which are 1-2 on the season, are preparing for a big matchup against the Cowboys this weekend. If another incident with Jones occurs in Dallas, the NFL will surely be put on notice.