Kerry Rhodes had a personal score to settle Sunday.
So he settled it.
In a losing cause — a 7-6 Jets win over Rhodes and the Cardinals — the Arizona safety nearly single-handedly defeated his former team with two first-quarter interceptions of Mark Sanchez.
When Rhodes was traded to the Cardinals by the Jets after the 2009 season, coach Rex Ryan and others in the organization chastised him for a poor work ethic and not being physical enough to fit into their defense.
Sunday was Rhodes’ first return visit to face his former team.
Following the 2010 season, Ryan penned these choice words about Rhodes in a book he wrote: “He was a selfish-ass guy. He wouldn’t work, and he was the Hollywood type, flashy and needing attention. I don’t mind flashy, but your work ethic had better back it up. He was a talented SOB, that’s for sure, but he wasn’t one of us.’’
After the game, these were Ryan’s words when he sought Rhodes out on the field: “You played a hell of a game.’’
So, too, did former Jets kicker Jay Feely, who booted field goals of 48 and 35 yards to provide the Cardinals with all of their points. Had it not been for the one TD the Jets scored in the third quarter, the two stars of the game would have been former Jets Rhodes and Feely.
“It was important for Kerry and me to come in here and have a good game,’’ Feely said. “We talked about it during the week. It was probably a little different for Kerry and I coming back here with what Rex wrote in his book about Kerry. I’m sure there was something extra to this game for him. When a coach calls you out you want to respond and prove him wrong when you play against his team.
“He had a chip on his shoulder. Kerry had one of the best games of his career. He could not have played better.’’
Rhodes’ response was emphatic from the get-go. On the Jets’ first play from scrimmage he picked off a Sanchez pass intended for Jeremy Kerley.
“I knew exactly what the play was, because they run it so often,’’ Rhodes said. “As soon as they motioned down I knew the play, so I just kind of jumped the route and he threw the ball a little high and I was able to catch it.’’
Later in the first quarter, Rhodes picked off another Sanchez pass intended for tight end Jeff Cumberland, and again he said he knew the play.
“They tried to run a little pump seam and I kind of knew that one, too,’’ he said.
While Rhodes was clearly delighted by his personal performance, the eighth consecutive Cardinals’ loss took some of the joy away, leaving him humbler than he might have been had his INTs contributed to a Jets’ loss.
“There was no edge about this game,’’ Rhodes insisted. “It’s been three years [since he was here]. I’m a grown man; I’m 30 years old now. I don’t dwell on the past that often. For me, the satisfaction is coming back and playing well in front of my family and friends. I had a lot of people here. That part was good, but we lost the game, so at end of the day it doesn’t really matter about personal accolades.’’