REDEEM TEAM
Marshall, Decker and Revis make up for early miscues
S OMETIMES, resilience leads to redemption. And more often than not, that leads to victory.
In the case of the Jets’ 3420 win over the Redskins on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, three of the team’s most important players — receivers Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall and cornerback Darrelle Revis — showed championship resiliency after making poor plays in the first half.
The three quickly redeemed themselves and helped turn a game that was far closer than it needed to be into the walkover it should have been in the first place against a bottomfeeder opponent.
First, there was Decker, on the Jets first offensive play from scrimmage, allowing Redskins safety Kyshoen Jarrett to jar the ball loose a split second after he made a catch.
Seven plays, 37 yards and 3:45 later, that turnover quickly led to a 70 Washington lead.
“It’s frustrating,’’ Decker said. “You don’t want to be the guy to turn the ball over. I pride myself on not doing that. But everything is not perfect. Flushing it and moving on and trying to make a play after that is kind of the mindset.’’
The Redskins took that lead on a 2yard Kirk Cousins scoring pass to Pierre Garcon, who was supposed to be covered by Revis. Revis, however, looked as if he’d turned “Revis Island’’ into an allinclusive hedonism everything-goes happy hour.
“He made a great play, ran a slant route and got the ball,’’ Revis said tersely.
Minutes after the Redskins touchdown, Decker was turning a short Ryan Fitzpatrick thirddown completion into a tacklebreaking 35yard catchandrun that got the ball to the Washington 2yard line, setting up a Chris Ivory gametying TD run.
“It’s good to bounce back with a play to help the team,’’ Decker said. “It’s a game of imperfection and you’ve got to move on to the next series and the next play. You’ve got to stick with it, grind it out and keep that tough mentality.’’
Next, it was Marshall’s turn. In the second quarter, the Jets leading receiver and most dynamic playmaker, allowed Redskins cornerback Bashaud Breeland to rip the ball out of his hands after he made a 12yard reception.
Seven plays later, the Redskins turned that turnover into a 54yard Dustin Hopkins field goal and a 1010 game.
On the Jets’ next possession, Marshall had his route undercut by Breeland, who picked off a Fitzpatrick pass with 36 seconds remaining in the half, leading to a 30yard Hopkins field goal and a 1310 Washington lead at the half — all 13 points coming off Jets turnovers.
“I’m disappointed with myself,’’ Marshall said. “I pride myself on my strength and that [play] wasn’t very strong. He stripped me. I guess I’ve got to get in the weight room. It sucks, but you’ve got to continue to punch through adversity.’’ And so he did. Marshall, who finished with seven catches for 111 yards and became the first Jets receiver to string together four consecutive 100yard games since Don Maynard in 1968, put the game away with an exquisite shoestring catch that he turned into a 35yard TD for a 2713 Jets lead in the third quarter.
“He wants to rise to the moment, you know?’’ Fitzpatrick said. “How he caught it, I don’t know. And how he turned it into a touchdown, I really don’t know. I’m just thankful Brandon is my teammate.’’
Asked if it was “gratifying’’ to redeem himself after the strip, Marshall said, “It’s my job. I’m supposed to do that. They pay me a lot of money — a LOT of money — and my job is to make plays.’’
The same goes for Revis, the highestpaid player on the team. He became the third of the three stars to find redemption when he made the defensive play of the game, picking off Cousins inside the Washington 20 in the third quarter. The turnover led to a Jets goahead TD one play and eight seconds later, giving them a 2013 lead they never would relinquish.
The Revis play ignited what had been an unusually sleepy and sparse home crowd. The Jets, coming out of their bye week, had not played a game in 14 days and it showed.
“I didn’t think we were playing with enough energy,’’ coach Todd Bowles said. “We were flat.’’
His three star players, who were part of the problem early in the game, became the solution with their resilience leading to redemption leading to victory and a 41 record, equaling the Jets’ win total in 2014.