SAN DIEGO — A cornerback’s job might be the toughest in the NFL.
They can’t dictate action, they can only react to it, and the beauty of Darrelle Revis’ play is that he makes it look easy.
Revis has been as good as advertised for the Patriots so far, and he turned in another stellar performance Sunday night in his team’s 23-14 win over the San Diego Chargers, limiting wide receiver Keenan Allen to just one catch on one target for 3 yards.
For this week’s full coverage stats, check out our takeaways from Patriots-Chargers:
KYLE ARRINGTON’S TOP-TIER SEASON CONTINUES
The job of a slot cornerback can be unforgiving. It entails giving up tons of catches and occasionally being burned for an impressive gain after the catch. Cornerback Kyle Arrington has been stellar all season, however, and he’s actually allowing less than half of his targets to go for receptions, which is incredibly difficult at his position.
The Patriots’ secondary proved why it’s one of the best in the NFL by limiting Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers to under 200 passing yards.
Check out this week’s pass-coverage charting stats:
Brandon Browner: three receptions on six targets, 44 yards, TD
Kyle Arrington: 2-5, 30 yards
Jamie Collins: 4-6, 29 yards
Jonathan Casillas: 2-3, 20 yards
Akeem Ayers: 1-2, 5 yards, INT
Rob Ninkovich: 2-2, 4 yards
Patrick Chung: 1-2, 4 yards
Devin McCourty: 1-2, 4 yards
Darrelle Revis: 1-1, 3 yards
Tavon Wilson: 1-1, -3 yards
Check out the Patriots’ pass-coverage charting stats for the season:
Revis: 31-69, 448 yards, two TDs, two INTs, 11 pass breakups
Ryan: 25-42, 385 yards, two TDs, two INTs, five pass breakups
Browner: 21-41, 347 yards, two TDs, one INT, four pass breakups
Arrington: 22-43, 270 yards, one TD, two pass breakups
Dennard: 16-23, 221 yards, two TDs
Collins: 21-40, 199 yards, one interception, one TD, one INT, one pass breakup
Chung: 16-32, 183 yards, three TDs, four pass breakups
Dont’a Hightower: 22-32, 166 yards, two pass breakups
Malcolm Butler: 10-19, 145 yards, one TD, one pass breakup
Jerod Mayo: 12-16, 127 yards, one TD
Ninkovich: 10-13, 118 yards, one INT
Devin McCourty: 9-17, 113 yards, two TDs, two INTs, two pass breakups
Tavon Wilson: 6-9, 85 yards, two pass breakups
Deontae Skinner: 5-5, 72 yards
Dominique Easley: 2-3, 25 yards, one interception
Chandler Jones: 2-3, 23 yards, two pass breakups
Casillas: 5-7, 22 yards, one TD
Nate Ebner: 2-4, 9 yards
Ayers: 2-4, 11 yards, interception
Duron Harmon: 0-2
Chris White: 0-1
Vince Wilfork: one interception
Alan Branch: one pass breakup
JAMIE COLLINS FILLS IN FOR DONT’A HIGHTOWER
Collins shouldered some extra responsibility with Hightower out with an injury. Collins saw an increased role as a pass rusher, and the decision to allow the linebacker to pressure Rivers paid off for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Collins recorded two of the Patriots’ four sacks.
Check out this week’s pass-rush charting stats:
Akeem Ayers: three QB hits, three hurries
Jamie Collins: two sacks, QB hit
Rob Ninkovich: one sack, one QB hit, one hurry
Sealver Siliga: 1/2 sack
Chris Jones: 1/2 sack
Kyle Arrington: one QB hit
Alan Branch: one QB hit
Vince Wilfork: one QB hit
Devin McCourty: one QB hit
Patrick Chung: one hurry
Jonathan Casillas: one hurry
Check out the Patriots’ season-long pass-rush charting stats:
Ninkovich: seven sacks, 12 QB hits, 29 hurries, 47 pressures
Hightower: 4.5 sacks, nine QB hits, 24 hurries, 40 pressures
Chandler Jones: 4.5 sacks, eight QB hits, 15 hurries, 28 pressures
Ayers: three sacks, four QB hits, 19 hurries, 25 pressures
Collins: three sacks, five QB hits, nine hurries, 17 pressures
Wilfork: .5 sack, three QB hits, 12 hurries, 16 pressures
Chris Jones: 3Â sacks, three QB hits, seven hurries, 12 pressures
Easley: .5 sack, one QB hit, six hurries, eight pressures
Jerod Mayo: one sack, one QB hit, four hurries, six pressures
Patrick Chung: two QB hits, three hurries, five pressures
Joe Vellano: one sack, two hurries, three pressures
Casey Walker: one sack, two hurries, three pressures
Zach Moore: .5 sack, two hurries, three pressures
Branch: two QB hits, one hurry, three pressures
Tavon Wilson: one QB hit, two hurries, three pressures
Deontae Skinner: one sack, one hurry, two pressures
Logan Ryan: one QB hit, one hurry, two pressures
Kyle Arrington: one sack, one QB hit, two pressures
Sealver Siliga: .5 sack, one QB hit, two pressures
McCourty: two QB hits, two pressures
Casillas: one QB hit, one hurry, two pressures
Alfonzo Dennard: one hurry, one pressure
TOM BRADY IS BAILED OUT BY JULIAN EDELMAN
Wide receiver Julian Edelman single-handedly made Brady’s decent performance look like a great one. Brady completed 28Â of 44 passes for 317 yards with two touchdowns and a terrible interception. Edelman accounted for 69 of those yards on a short pass that he took all the way for a touchdown.
Of Brady’s 16Â incompletions, six were his own fault on overthrows or underthrows. I blamed Brady’s interception on the QB, since he was throwing off his back foot. Six incompletions can be credited to the Chargers’ defense for making good plays. Brady’s offensive line accounted for three incompletions, and Edelman had one drop.
In all, it was a pretty good Brady performance that certainly could have been better.
Thumbnail photo via Jake Roth/USA TODAY Sports Images
