Sauce Gardner of the New York Jets warms up before a game against the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Sauce Gardner figured the Ravens would look to exploit him in his first NFL game on Sunday.

“If I’m a quarterback and it’s a rookie corner, that’s who I’m going to go at,” he said after the Jets practiced on Friday.

Not so much, as it turned out. The Ravens targeted the No. 4 overall pick in the most recent NFL Draft less than a handful of times.

When the Ravens’ 24-9 victory was over, Gardner encountered Lamar Jackson, Baltimore’s star quarterback, on the field.

“I told Lamar after the game, ‘I thought you were going to go at me all game,’” Gardner recalled. “He was just like, ‘Nah, bro, you played a good game.’”

Gardner’s best moment came in the second quarter, when he broke up a pass in the end zone to Mark Andrews – who last season led all NFL tight ends in targets with 153.

“He was the guy that was on my list for that game, because I was hearing about how he led the NFL in targets and this and that,” Gardner said.

“So on third down, that's the guy that I was wanting to go against. That's why I was playing the slot a little bit. It felt good to be able to break that pass up.”’

It is plays like that that led Gardner to say as a corner, while it might be a sign of respect not to be thrown at, he wants some balls to come his way.

“Who wouldn’t prefer to have an interception or a pass deflection?” he said.

Gardner said he did not find the speed of a regular-season game daunting, saying that it felt faster during training camp when players desperate to make the roster were on the field.

“Obviously I’m a rookie right now, so it is probably going to slow down even more and I just don’t know it yet,” he said. “It wasn’t too fast that I couldn’t handle it.”

Coach Robert Saleh said of Gardner’s debut, “I thought he did a really nice job. We put him to the task of trying to lock down Andrews on third down, and we're matching him because he has a bigger body.

“I thought he was poised. I thought he brought a lot of energy. Played smart.”

As confident as he is, Gardner knows there are lessons and ups and downs ahead. “I just try to stay levelheaded, grounded and humbled,” he said.

But for a first effort, he was pleased.

“It was everything that I thought it would be,” he said. “The intensity was very high. The fans were very high. I think I had a decent game. So I’m looking forward to this Sunday.”

Notes & Quotes: S Jordan Whitehead (ankle) practiced and likely will play . . . TE C.J. Ozumah (hamstring) did not practice Friday and is doubtful . . . Saleh on Browns DE Myles Garrett: “I was joking, or not joking because it’s half true, that the Good Lord was on his A-game when he built Myles. He doesn’t have a flaw to his game. He’s big, he’s got everything, and when he turns it on he’s impossible to block."

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.

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