Load bearing
Last Sunday was what many envisioned at the season’s outset, when the Jets were projected to contend for a playoff spot, led by one of the league’s elite defenses: A victory created by a dominant defense; a front seven that got to the quarterback and stopped the run; a secondary that produced turnovers and limited big plays.
And at the heart of it all was Darrelle Revis, looking something like the Revis of old. If not a replica, at least a somewhat comparable version, a rock the rest of the defense could lean upon.
According to Pro Football Focus, the 31-year-old Revis allowed just one catch for 11 yards Sunday against Ravens wide receiver Breshad Perriman on five targets over 46 passing snaps. This came a week after Revis limited Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald to six catches for 49 yards.
Jets coach Todd Bowles said he thinks Revis is moving better and believes the talk was overblown, that there were only a few plays that deserved criticism.
“My position is definitely a rhythm thing,” Revis said Thursday. “I didn’t have a lot of rhythm early in the year, and now I’m starting to get my rhythm. I’ve played better since the earlier part of the year.”
Revis dealt with an avalanche of criticism after getting beat often in September. He understands it. He brought it upon himself by “playing the game and the position at such a high level for so long,” he said. “It’s almost like you’re getting criticized like you’re a quarterback.”
There were reasons for his slow start, not just that he was getting older, as so many insisted. There was a hamstring injury. Coming off wrist surgery, he needed time to get in shape. His timing was off.
“There were a lot of things going on at the time,” Revis said. “At the end of the day, I’m a person who perseveres through things. I don’t make excuses for anything that’s going on with me.”
It was, of course, more than just Revis last Sunday. The entire Jets’ defense put on a clinic in the second half against the Ravens, producing two turnovers — interceptions by Buster Skrine and Marcus Gilchrist — and allowing just 45 total yards. The run defense, a week after getting gashed by the Cardinals for 171 yards and three touchdowns, allowed just 11 yards the entire afternoon. Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco was confused by myriad packages and produced a 27.6 rating, by far the lowest of the seven quarterbacks the Jets have faced this year.
“Guys up front, we just dominated from start to finish,” said defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson, who missed the game with a sore ankle.
From what Wilkerson saw, it was the product of everyone on the defense taking care of his own responsibilities and not trying to do anything extra, simply doing his job on each play. Gaps were filled against the run, the front seven got to the quarterback, and the secondary stuck on the Ravens receivers like super glue.
“A few things happened that hadn’t been happening for us,” defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said, pointing to the consistent pressure on the quarterback and the secondary’s ability to create two turnovers. “It’s kind of the way we want to play. The Dline, linebackers, secondary all played good together for a change.”
Of course, now they just have to do it on a weekly basis. It took until Week 6 for that elite defense everyone expected to see show up. The Jets will need that defense to become a Sunday fixture to get back into the playoff race.
“The word to use is consistency,” Revis said. “We’ve got to continue to be consistent week in and week out. If we do that, I think we’ll win more ballgames.”