But it was sometimes hard to decipher who was the hunter and who was the hunted at MetLife Stadium on Monday night, when Revis matched up against Miami receiver Brandon Marshall in the Jets’ 24-6 win over the Dolphins.
Miami’s plan, which seemed to call for isolating Revis, perhaps the N.F.L.’s best cornerback, was certainly curious. It worked with modest success, until it did not: Revis made the Dolphins pay by returning an interception 100 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
“I just made one cut, and it was wide open,” Revis said. “I mean, a tank could drive straight through it. I just kept on running and nobody was near me.”
Marshall laid an intriguing subplot for the matchup when he vowed to play “like a monster” and predicted that he would be ejected by the second quarter because of some overzealous act. (Marshall made it through the game without major incident. He said afterward that he was “obviously” joking about making those statements.)
Marshall matched up against Revis on all but a few plays, and they shoved each other and appeared to jaw at each other at just about every occasion. Quarterback Matt Moore, who was filling in for the injured Chad Henne, still threw to Marshall 13 times.
“Me and Brandon know each other off the field,” Revis said. “It was nothing personal. It was nothing arguing. It was competition the whole time. That’s how we go about our relationship on and off the field.”
Marshall finished with six catches for 109 yards, but his yardage total was inflated by a 46-yarder in the first quarter, when he got behind Antonio Cromartie.
Moore’s first two throws in Marshall’s direction were successful, resulting in gains of 8 and 20 yards in the first quarter. On the second reception, Marshall forcefully shook off Revis, then ran up the left sideline before ducking out of bounds. Marshall also beat Revis on a crossing pattern for an 11-yard catch in the third quarter.
But Revis left his imprint on the night by nullifying one of Miami’s only true scoring opportunities, with his touchdown return, the third of his career. He picked off another pass deep in Jets territory with a little less than five minutes to play.
Revis’s return for a touchdown figured importantly in an offensively deficient game. Revis engaged Marshall at the snap, and Moore sailed the pass into Revis’s stomach after Marshall slipped while running his route.
A version of this article appeared in print on October 18, 2011, on page B16 of the New York edition with the headline: Revis Dominates Matchup And Spoils Miami’s Plan.
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