CINCINNATI — Sauce Gardner has to be hurting — and in more ways than one.

A concussion has knocked Gardner out of Sunday’s game against the Bengals in what would have been a homecoming for the former University of Cincinnati Bearcat. Gardner, the Jets’ All-Pro cornerback, also gets extra hyped when he has to try to lock down star receivers. There’s none bigger than Ja’Marr Chase right now.

Chase caught a career-high 16 passes in a win over Pittsburgh last week with former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Jalen Ramsey defending him most of the time. Limiting Chase, the NFL leader with 58 catches, would be a challenge if Gardner were playing. Now the Jets’ secondary, hurting without Gardner, really has its hands full.

“I have a lot of confidence in the guys that we have, let me say that

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