In most games, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis finds himself as busy as a guy selling artichoke-flavored ice cream to kids. Offenses tend to shy away from his unquestioned skills because you don’t poke sleeping bears or rattle hornets’ nests. The Dolphins went after Revis on Monday night, threw his way a lot.
So two interceptions later (one of them returned 100 yards for a game-changing touchdown), Revis gladly accepted the AFC Defensive Player of the Week honor. Thank you, Miami.
And Revis wouldn’t mind one bit if the high-powered Chargers, with the AFC’s second-ranked passing offense, try coming at him Sunday.
“Yeah. Yeah,” Revis replied when asked if he hopes the Chargers’ game plan for the 1 p.m. start at MetLife Stadium targets his area. “It’s their game plan, it’s what they feel comfortable with and how they want to attack our defense. If I’m the guy they want to attack, that’s cool. If it’s [Antonio Cromartie], if it’s the linebackers, whoever it is on our team we take the challenge.”
Revis took and passed the challenge Monday night with three tackles and four passes defended in the Jets’ victory. He was largely assigned to Brandon Marshall and regardless of who he draws this time — “We don’t give away who we put him on,” coach Rex Ryan said — Revis knows it will be a real challenge.
Vincent Jackson, averaging 17.7 yards per reception, and Malcom Floyd each are 6-foot-5 targets for QB Philip Rivers. And tight end Antonio Gates might be back after missing the last three games with a foot injury.
“Very challenging. One of the best quarterbacks in the league. Gunslinger. And their passing game is all vertical. They got two 6-5 NBA players out there, LeBron James is out there. Two guys who can go up and get the ball, and they do a great job,” Revis said. “This is the team we’re facing that has run the most vertical routes. That’s all they do. You see it on film all the time . . . Philip has great accuracy. He has a big arm [and] you can see sometimes on film they just throw the ball up and those guys will get it.”
So Revis relies on everything he has, including what teammate guard Matt Slauson joked is “a bag of tricks” other corners aren’t good enough to use but Revis is really good at.
“He’s the guy when he’s on your team, you love him; on the other team, you hate him,” Slauson said. “He’s a great asset to our team, a great teammate. Knowing we never have to worry about him is great.”