Darrelle Revis Roasted By A.J. Green In Jets' Season-Opening Loss
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Darrelle Revis is still really good. But A.J. Green is a lot better.
That's at least what is to be taken away from the Week 1 meeting between the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets, when the Bengals receiver teed off on the All-Pro cornerback all day long.
The Bengals eventually prevailed on the scoreboard, and that was thanks in large part to the performance of Green -- and specifically, Green vs. Revis.
By the end of the afternoon, quarterback Andy Dalton had thrown to Green 10 times when the receiver was matched up against Revis. He connected all 10 times.
The results led to headlines -- like "A.J. Green embarrasses Darrelle Revis all day long in Bengals' win" from Yahoo -- that will not make the prideful Revis very happy. (Revis reportedly started a fight with teammate Brandon Marshall this summer after Marshall verbally jabbed Revis about DeAndre Hopkins' performance vs. Revis last season.)
Of course, as with anything in sports, numbers don't tell the whole story. On Green's 54-yard touchdown reception, Revis clearly expected some safety help that was not there. On several other passes, Revis was happy to give up a short completion to the dangerous receiver. On others, Revis was step-for-step in coverage, but Green's incredible ability to come down with the football were on full display.
Still, it wasn't much Revis' day, and considering his surgically repaired wrist was supposed to allow him to regain some of his physicality at the line of scrimmage, this certainly wasn't the first step forward he hoped to take in 2016.
But, being one of the best in the game at his position, Revis knows the best quality he can possess is a short memory. And he certainly didn't look too down on himself after the loss.
"It probably wasn't one of my better games," Revis said after the loss, per NJ.com. "I can take a punch on the chin."
That may be true. But Brandon Marshall better not mention Green's performance in front of Revis, who's proven he can dish out the punches just as easily.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
