Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is getting the Grayson Allen treatment after Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner accused him of hitting him in the groin during Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium.
Some have questioned if Jones is earning the reputation as someone who plays dirty following a confrontation with Gardner in the fourth quarter of New England’s 15-10 win, during which the Jets star claimed the Patriots signal-caller “hit me in my private parts” after getting tackled.
It marked yet another alleged dirty play for the third-year pro.
“He’s becoming the Grayson Allen of the NFL,” former ESPN host Trey Wingo said while discussing the incident on his “Chasin’ It” podcast with Chase Daniel.
He was referring to the new Suns guard who’s had a history of questionably dirty moments on the court dating back to his playing days at Duke University.
“He’s not good enough to get away with this,” Daniel said of Jones.
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who took in the action while recovering from surgery to repair his torn Achilles, didn’t seem happy about it either.
“Slapping guys in the nuts is not the best look,” Rodgers said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.
Gardner claimed he was hit in his “private parts” after Jones was tackled by Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley while attempting a quarterback sneak.
After the play, Gardner shoved Jones, who just walked away.
Gardner, who was seen pointing to his groin area as one of the referee attempted to separate the players, discussed the incident after the game.
“He had got tackled,” he told reporters. “He reached his hand up to try to, like, get me to help him up. And I just moved his hand out of the way.
“Then, when he gets up [and] he just comes up to me like, ‘Good job.’ But while he said that … he hit me in my private parts. You know what I’m saying?”
Gardner said his stomach hurt afterward.
“I do gotta ice up,” he said before joking that Jones “tried to stop me from having kids in the future.”
Gardner took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared a video of the scuffle on Monday with the caption: “Posting this so I don’t get fined lol.”
Eagles cornerback Darius Slay reposted the video and wrote, “He stay doin dirty s–t!!”
Jones denied any wrongdoing in the play.
“Sauce is one of the best corners in the NFL. I have a lot of respect for him. On that play, nothing was intentional,” Jones said.
“I just got up and went back to the huddle, and that’s it. … It’s football. Just trying to get up and go back to the huddle. And like I just said, nothing there.”
The NFL is looking into Gardner’s claim, according to Pro Football Talk.
This isn’t the first time Jones has been accused of being a “dirty player.”
Dolphins cornerback Eli Apple called out Jones for a controversial hit when his Bengals played the Patriots in December 2022.
“I thought it was a dirty play,” Apple said at the time. “He’s done that before, I’ve seen it.”
Earlier in the 2022 season, Bears safety Jaquan Brisker accused Jones of kicking him below the belt on purpose during a win over the Patriots.
In 2021, Jones grabbed Brian Burns by the ankle and twisted him down following the Panthers defensive end’s strip-sack.