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Revis After the Loss: ‘It’s Real Sad Right Now’

Darrelle Revis proved again today that he’s not only a shutdown corner but a standup professional. After the crushing 29-14 loss to New York’s NFC representative that dropped the Jets to 8-7, Revis stood at his locker and took question after question thrown his way.

“The one thing I can say is this is a team sport and we’ve been struggling as a team the whole year,” said Revis, one of the club’s two defensive captains. “It’s been up and down. The offense may show up one week, the next week the defense may show up, and the week after that the special teams may show up. It’s been really rough this year for us and we have to get back to playing great football like we did in the past.”

Revis was phenomenal throughout the game, totaling five passes defended. He helped the Green & White get back in the ballgame in the fourth quarter, deflecting an Eli Manning pass intended for Hakeem Nicks into the hands of David Harris. That takeaway not only set up a Mark Sanchez touchdown that cut the deficit to 20-14 but the pick immediately followed Sanchez’s lost fumble on third-and-goal from the NYG-1.

“At that time, I think we really regained the momentum. We needed a key play and that’s all we were talking about on defense was trying to get turnovers and either score or give the ball back to the offense,” he said. “We did. They threw a slant on me, I kind of deflected it and David caught it. It was good. We were in plus territory, helping our offense score for us.”

Nobody in their right mind would have thought the Jets could lose this game if Manning finished with nine completions. But that’s what happened as he completed just 33 percent of his tosses but averaged 25 yards a completion.

“We got off a lot on third downs and showed them different looks, we really did,” Revis said. “We had a great game plan. We felt like we were going to be aggressive and attack them this week. But in the passing game, a couple of balls they made big plays and we couldn’t make the tackle.”

The Jets looked to be in control late in the first half, up, 7-3. MetLife Stadium was jumping and Manning faced a third-and-10 from his own 1. The opposition QB found speedy Victor Cruz, who sidestepped Kyle Wilson and Antonio Cromartie tackle attempts and outraced S Eric Smith down the sideline for a 99-yard score. It was the longest play from scrimmage that the Jets had ever given up.

“You never think a play is going to happen like that where somebody takes it distance — 99 yards. We just have to be better,” Revis said. “There were some missed tackles. We just have to get the guy on the ground and we failed to do that, and he went storming down the sideline 99 yards.”

The Jets trailed, 10-7, at half after that historic conversion. The score remained unchanged until the Giants use three long gainers — a 36-yarder to Cruz, a 28-yard Brandon Jacobs run and a 14-yard scoring charge from Ahmad Bradshaw — to culminate a four-play, 81-yard drive that made it 17-7.

“We made mistakes. Normally in November and December, you don’t want to be making these mistakes as a team and that’s what it comes down to,” Revis said. “We have to be more consistent and do our jobs.”

After Sanchez’s fourth-quarter score, the defense didn’t yield the momentum. They forced a three-and-out and the Jets took over at midfield down just six with 5:39 remaining. But the good field position was wasted as the offense also went three-and-out.

The defense yielded a bit on the next Giants possession but still forced another punt and Sanchez and company took over at their own 8. Then Chris Canty got Sanchez for a safety and Bradshaw put the game away on a 19-yard romp after an “onside” free kick.

“It’s real sad right now. We needed this win,” Revis said. “We made mistakes and they outplayed us. They made more plays than we did and they made them look humongous. You have to take your hat off to them. They made a lot of plays.”

In a must-win for both teams, the Jets didn’t have enough answers and Revis continued to say as much. He played a hell of a football game on Christmas Eve but his team lost. The Jets will stay in must-win mode next week in Miami and they’ll have to win that game and get some help to return to the postseason.

“We may talk the talk, but we have to walk the walk as well,” said the NFL’s top cornerback.