On paper, it looked like the least favorable matchup for the Jets against the Browns Sunday at MetLife Stadium: Rookie cornerback Dee Milliner, who has been benched three times this season, covering Browns star receiver Josh Gordon, who entered the game leading the NFL in receiving yards with 1,467 despite having played in just 12 games.
The matchup looked about as good as Kim Kardashian’s marriage to Kris Humphries.
It ended quite a bit differently than many people might have expected, though, with the Jets top draft pick, maligned more than anyone on the team except perhaps rookie quarterback Geno Smith, helping to prevent Gordon from beating the Jets.
It was as much a key to the Jets’ seventh win of the season, as anything.
Gordon finished the game with six catches for 97 yards, but he was targeted 16 times to get those six catches, and Milliner’s tight coverage had a lot to do with that.
Though most people figured the Jets would put Antonio Cromartie, their top cornerback, on Gordon, the coaches told Milliner on Monday that it would be him on Gordon.
Milliner responded with his best game as a pro, making a key interception to go along with five passes defensed and a team-high nine tackles.
“Coach [Rex Ryan] told me I was going to be on Gordon, so I knew there were going to be opportunities to make plays,’’ Milliner said. “I was going to get a lot of plays thrown at me, so I was just ready for it.’’
Milliner credited the coaching staff with having him in the perfect coverage on consecutive plays in the first half when the Browns tried to throw to Gordon in the end zone. He made plays on both third and fourth downs and the Jets kept the Browns out of the end zone.
“I knew they were going to try to take a shot with him [in the end zone] because he’s one of their go-to receivers in the red zone,’’ Milliner said. “[Gordon] is a bigger guy, so we knew they would try a fade or back-shoulder route. The coaches called a good coverage that put me underneath and then over the top on the second one, so we knew it was coming.’’
Gordon was complimentary of Milliner.
“[He’s] a great young player who should be for a long time in this league,’’ Gordon said. “The more experience he gets, the better he will be and offenses will not attack him as much. As a rookie DB, teams are going to go after you every week.’’
Ryan, who has been Milliner’s biggest booster, was effusive when asked after the game about his top draft pick.
“I said at the end of the year that we will see if this guy wasn’t the best corner in the draft,’’ Ryan said. “That kid [Gordon] is a pretty darn good receiver. We’ll see. I’ve seen a few good players come down the road in my day. This guy [Milliner] is going to be an outstanding player.’’
Cromartie said the plan was for him to play “zero coverage’’ man-to-man on Browns receiver Greg Little and have Milliner cover Gordon with safety help. It turned out to be a strong strategy, with Little catching only one pass for 4 yards on four targets and Gordon neutralized.
“[Milliner] played a tremendous game,’’ Cromartie said.
“Dee had a phenomenal day,’’ Jets safety Dawan Landry said. “He had a tremendous week in practice, studied a lot of film and it showed today. That was a real big confidence boost for him to come out and execute against a hot receiver like [Gordon], one of the top guys in the NFL, and he pretty much shut him down.’’
Fellow rookie first-round draft pick Sheldon Richardson, who rooms with Milliner on the road, said Sunday’s game should be a big boost for Milliner’s confidence.
“Call it what you want — swag, momentum, confidence, he should be up on the highest level right now,’’ Richardson said. “He stepped it up big today.’’