The scene from Sunday’s locker room — with an upset and somber Sauce Gardner leaving to review the final points that went wrong in the Jets loss — has faded in Jeff Ulbrich’s eyes.

The answer during training this week was what he would like.

There was focus. The right attitude. Everything.

But what remained was a challenge for Gardner from his interim head coach and the only NFL defensive coordinator he’s ever had: his tackling and physicality must improve.

Because through eight games, Gardner has compiled the worst tackling grade and highest missed tackle percentage of his career, according to Pro Football Focus.

The 23.3 missed tackles clip is the eighth-worst among cornerbacks who have logged at least 50 percent of 565 snaps.

Ulbrich thought the Patriots game showed flashes of improvement, but that doesn’t change the need for Gardner’s approach to growth in Thursday night’s game against the Texans.

“Honestly, and we’ve had this conversation, things have to get better,” Ulbrich said after practice on Tuesday. “And he knows that. I really felt like there was an improvement in the last game. If you really look at this last game critically in terms of his tackling, I felt like the intention to be physical was better than before.

In the aftermath of Sunday’s game, from his spot in the visiting Gillette Stadium locker room, Gardner was still hung up on a late play that perhaps sealed the Jets’ fate as Jacoby Brissett drove the Patriots off the field for their eventual game win . landing.

With New England facing a third-and-10 from the Jets’ 43-yard line, wideout Kayshon Boutte faked a move outside — forcing movement to Gardner’s sideline — before cutting back left toward the middle of the play.

That separation in the 1-on-1 match left him open enough for a 34-yard connection.

Four snaps later, the Patriots were in the end zone.

Gardner’s PFF grade has dropped from 87.9 and 88.6 in his first two seasons to 65.6 in Week 9, and while he’s still only getting 14 receptions on 29 targets, that reflects a decline from standard Gardner set to start his NFL career.

It started with a Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign when he made the decision to draft him at fourth overall, which seemed like the right choice.

That prompted opponents to barely throw at him during his second season, which largely continued in Year 3.

And it has positioned Gardner for a huge expansion considering what other top cornerbacks have received after the 2024 season.

According to veteran defenseman Jalen Mills, what has unfolded can at least be compared to Lakers star LeBron James.

The standard continued to rise and rise during James’ first years in the league with the Cavaliers, and as he got older the production and consistency continued, even if the hype didn’t necessarily follow to the same extent.

“He had a 30-point average and people were like, ‘Ah, yeah, it’s whatever,’” Mills told The Post. ‘But the guy is forty, for example. See what I mean? You are no longer impressed by it, but he is actually doing an impressive job.”

Even with Ulbrich’s challenge, and even with the statistical decline in stats, Gardner remains a crucial part of the Jets secondary.

He is still only 24 years old, far removed from the legitimate concerns that his age is overshadowing him, as is the case for James.

He has played in every game this year, while DJ Reed, Michael Carter II and other defensive backs have missed time due to injuries.

Gardner will also continue to get reps against some of the league’s best wideouts, and his 2024 ledger already includes matchups with the 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk and the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson.

So the Jets aren’t worried.

He is “ready to wipe the slate clean,” Mills said.

He faces another difficult task on Thursday, even with the Texans missing two of their best wideouts in Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins. Now he also has a physicality and a challenge from Ulbrich to tackle.

“He set the bar so high like rookie year 1, year 2, where, you know, everybody expects nothing to go, nobody to catch the ball,” Mills said. “But at the end of the day, this is the NFL. Teams plan, and it will happen. We play the toughest position in the league other than quarterback. We do everything backwards.

“Just keep making progress, he’s studying, he’s coming out and working hard. He will be good.”