Lost in the euphoria of the Jets’ 37-31 comeback road victory over the Bills on Thursday night, lost in the 493 yards of offense they tattooed onto the backside of Rex Ryan’s defense and lost Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 374-yard exorcism of his Ryan demons is an issue they never thought would arise this year.
Darrelle Revis.
What to do about the Jets’ star, who through two games has shown signs he is no longer the shutdown cornerback he was when the “Revis Island’’ nickname became the perfect marketing tool and earned him millions of dollars.
Through two games — each of which has included Revis playing a large part in yielding a long touchdown pass — the day appears to have come when the Jets no longer can simply trot the 31-year-old onto the field, point him in the direction of the opponents’ best receiver and say, “Sic him.’’
Yes, it is only two games, which is not a large enough sample to call it a full-blown crisis or trend. But Revis giving up that 84-yard TD pass to Buffalo receiver Marquise Goodwin, four days after he was lit up by the Bengals’ A.J. Green for 12 catches and 180 yards, including a 54-yard TD, should be cause for alarm in the team’s defensive meetings.
In the days when Revis Island was an exclusive a piece of real estate, it would take him a couple of months to yield 180 receiving yards. Fifty-four yards on one play in the first week and 84 on one play the next week? That was unheard of.
“He gave up two plays; I don’t think that’s an indication of a whole season,’’ coach Todd Bowles said diplomatically Friday. “We’ve got to correct it and move on. He’ll be better and we’ll move on from there.’’
Bowles, a former NFL defensive back with a terrific defensive mind, now is faced with the task of figuring out how best to use Revis, who remains the best defensive back on the team, and — until further notice — one of the better corners in the league.
Bowles already made a switch in strategy before the Buffalo game, opting to double Sammy Watkins, the Bills’ top receiver who caught 11 passes for 136 yards on Revis in the season finale last year, and putting Revis on Goodwin.
“We discussed this in the summer that this was what we were going to try to do,’’ Bowles said.
Before this season, there was some concession in Revis’ voice when he spoke about one day being moved to safety, something many cornerbacks do as their coverage skills diminish to prolong their careers.
That time is not now. But changes must be made. Because if they aren’t, big, game-turning chunk plays like the ones to Green and Goodwin, who had a total of 66 receiving yards since the start of the 2014 season before Thursday night, are likely to keep coming.
“It’s a copycat league,’’ Bowles said. “Any time somebody sees somebody have success with something they’re going to do it until you put the fire out.’’
It is up to Bowles and his defensive scheming to help Revis extinguish the flames, beginning with the Jets next game, Sept. 25 against the Chiefs in Kansas City.
Until then, Revis will continue to take his lumps. This is what happens when the best in their sport show signs of deteriorating.
Even former Knicks guard J.R. Smith joined the fray of sarcastic detractors when he trolled Revis with this Twitter tweak: “Damn #RevisIsland is turning into a tourist resort.’’
Revis didn’t wait long to hit back, tweeting: “@TheRealJRSmith still heading to Canton though. What about you???”
Jets star receiver Brandon Marshall, who was entangled in a training camp tussle with Revis, will have no part of the Revis trashing.
“I stand in front of the world and I say: ‘Darrelle Revis is the best cornerback in this league,’ ’’ Marshall said in a postgame interview on the NFL Network on Thursday night. “He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He gave up some big plays last week. But regardless of how he’s playing right now, he’s still the best. You’ll see him back to Revis Island, back to shutting guys down in a couple of weeks.”