Darrelle Revis was on another level Sunday night.
The New England Patriots cornerback showed off his intelligence, versatility, athleticism and skill in his team’s 45-7 blowout win over the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. He bounced around the field swapping between man and zone coverages, picked off a pass, deflected another and was targeted just one time.
Luck tried his best to stay away from the All-Pro, otherworldly cornerback and still failed.
Revis wasn’t even in coverage on this play. T.Y. Hilton, Luck’s target, was Kyle Arrington’s responsibility, but both players were cleared out on the pick play, and Revis was able to disengage more quickly and read Luck’s throw in order to jump the route. We won’t pretend that Luck’s pass was even mediocre, but it still was a good play by Revis.
Revis has been great this season, and he’s deserved every accolade that he’s received, but he truly lived up to his billing Sunday night in the Patriots’ victory that pushed them into Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks, who have their own stud corner.
We’ll save the comparisons between Revis and Richard Sherman for now, but it’s difficult to imagine a cornerback playing a better game than Revis on Sunday night.
BRANDON BROWNER SHUTS DOWN COBY FLEENER
Brandon Browner, the Patriots’ other free-agent addition at cornerback this offseason, had one of his better games of the season Sunday night, as well. Nine weeks after allowing over 100 yards to Colts tight end Coby Fleener, Browner didn’t allow a single reception to Luck’s former Stanford roommate.
Browner, like Revis, bounced around covering several difficult players and excelled against all of them.
Really, every Patriots defensive back shined against the Colts. Kyle Arrington allowed the most yards with 36, but allowing only 36 yards to Hilton, one of the biggest playmakers in the NFL, is a huge accomplishment.
“By far the best secondary I’ve been around,” Revis praised this group Sunday night.
Check out the rest of Sunday night’s pass-coverage charting stats:
Kyle Arrington: 1-4, 36 yards
Logan Ryan: 1-5, 15 yards
Jamie Collins: 2-4, 12 yards, INT
Dont’a Hightower: 1-4, 11 yards
Patrick Chung: 1-2, 10 yards
Rob Ninkovich: 1-3, 9 yards, two pass breakups
Brandon Browner: 1-2, 5 yards
Devin McCourty: 0-2, pass breakup
Darrelle Revis: 0-1, INT, pass breakup
ROB NINKOVICH BOTHERS ANDREW LUCK ALL NIGHT
Patriots edge rusher Rob Ninkovich was an absolute pest against the Colts. He recorded 11 total pressures and made veteran right tackle Joe Reitz look like a rag doll. Ninkovich didn’t record any sacks, but that’s mostly because of Luck’s impressive maneuverability in the pocket.
Chandler Jones contributed with seven quarterback pressures. Check out the rest of Sunday night’s pass-rush charting stats:
Rob Ninkovich: three QB hits, eight hurries
Chandler Jones: two QB hits, five hurries
Jamie Collins: one QB hit, one hurry
Sealver Siliga: one hurry
Dont’a Hightower: one hurry
Alan Branch: one hurry
Thumbnail photo via Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports Images
