In case you were wondering whether prolific Patriots receiver Randy Moss was dressed for yesterday’s game, he was. He was, however, about as much a factor in the game as Patriots receiver Wes Welker, who was on the inactive list with a knee injury.
Moss’ silence was thanks to Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who appears headed straight to the Pro Bowl after this season.
One week after limiting Houston’s Andre Johnson, the NFL’s leading receiver in 2008, to four catches for 35 yards, he shut down Moss yesterday, holding him to four catches for 24 yards.
“I just covered him,” Revis said. “If he went to the bathroom, I went, too. I covered him any way I could. When he went to the sidelines, when our offense was on the field and he sat down, I sat right across from him wherever he was sitting on the bench.”
Moss afterward was lukewarm in handing out kudos to Revis, saying, “All week he was talking about being a shutdown corner, but there are really no shutdown corners in the league, because they get help most of the time.”
Maybe Moss should have acted like a corner in the first half when Revis picked off a Brady pass intended for him down the field.
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Welker, who was listed as questionable on the injury report, was a surprise scratch, prompting Ryan to say he was “shocked” but “thankful” to see him on the inactive list.
Welker’s replacement, rookie Julian Edelman, caught eight passes for 98 yards.
“We call him Welker’s ‘Mini-Me,’ ” former Jets TE Chris Baker said of Edelman.
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CBs Lito Sheppard (quadriceps) and Donald Strickland (ankle) were lost to injury during the game. Neither returned, though Sheppard said afterward he was OK.
The Patriots went no-huddle for the entire game on offense in hopes of deterring the Jets from making substitutions and confusing them. Instead, the Patriots were called for four delay-of-game penalties and one illegal formation.
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The Jets next game is against the Titans, who are 0-2 after losing to the Texans 34-31 yesterday. The Titans started last season 10-0 before the Jets beat them in Tennessee.
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Patriots LB Adalius Thomas gave Jets fan “Fireman Ed” his props for amping up the Jets crowd.
“I don’t know who the guy is, but they have to let him in for free,” Thomas said. “He’s like the captain of the whole stadium.”