Jets' Revis takes advantage of rare help to bait Romo into pick

Darrelle Revis showed again on Sunday night against the Cowboys why he's the best cornerback in the NFL.

The Jets' initial game plan was to have Revis shut down Miles Austin, but when the Cowboys came out of the gate targeting second-year wideout Dez Bryant, New York changed gears. Revis switched over to Bryant and aside from one remarkable throw and catch, Bryant was essentially taken out of the game.

Romo must raise his game

The Cowboys have the playoffs in mind, but unless Tony Romo stops making critical mistakes late in games, things could get ugly in Dallas, says Steve Wyche. **More ...**

» Watch: Can Garrett help Romo?
» Evans: You must protect the ball
» Romo falters late in loss to Jets

Such is the benefit of having a player like Revis. If a receiver is hot, he cools him off. If an offense is picking up the Jets' blitzes, coach Rex Ryan and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine can simply bring more guys. Revis can play alone, on an island, against any receiver in the league.

Revis went without an interception last season for two primary reasons. One, teams shy away from throwing to his side of the field because the receiver is well-covered. Second, when you're playing man-to-man coverage, you're watching the receiver and not the quarterback, making an interception unlikely. Interceptions are more common in zone coverage, when a defender can see the ball thrown.

Revis' first pick in more than a year came on a disguise, when the Jets showed Tony Romo one coverage but played another.

With 59 seconds remaining and the game tied 24-24, Romo saw three defensive backs to his left, covering two receivers, and man-to-man coverage to his right. Safety Brodney Pool was opposite Jason Witten and Revis was on his usual island, across from Bryant. This was a typical alignment for the Jets.

The trick was that Revis was not alone on his island.

At the snap, Pool sprinted to a deep position, over the top of Bryant. His purpose was to help deep, so Revis was free to jump anything underneath.

The disguise was further driven home by Revis' man-to-man turn toward the sideline, into Bryant, which confirmed for Romo that it was indeed man coverage. Romo thought the throw he was making was a safe one -- that Revis would not be free to turn back to the inside.

Romo took the bait and by the time he let go of the ball, it was too late. Revis had turned, seen the throw, and awaited the easy catch.

Revis is not often the beneficiary of safety help. Given the opportunity to play zone, Revis cashed in with the biggest play of the game, and his first interception of the season.