15 Darrelle Revis stats that capture his all-time dominance

At his peak, Darrelle Revis was arguably the most unbeatable cornerback in NFL history. 2009 season Throwing at him was a futile proposition Trying Darrelle Revis in 2009 was a downright foolish idea. Including his three playoff games, on targets in his direction, Revis allowed 48-of-127 passes to be completed (37.8% completion rate) for 502 yards (3.95 per target), two touchdowns, and eight interceptions. That's a passer rating of 29.1, which remains the lowest mark allowed in one season by any qualified cornerback as far back as coverage data is available (since 2006). How awful is a 29.1 passer rating for a quarterback? On September 8, 1991, former Jets franchise quarterback Ken O'Brien had a game in Seattle where he completed 13-of-29 passes (44.8%) for 128 yards (4.4 per attempt), no touchdowns, and two picks - a 29.1 passer rating. That was the fourth-worst passer rating O'Brien ever posted out of 112 career starts. When throwing at Revis, quarterbacks performed at a level reminiscent of the absolute worst games they ever played. Achieving record-setting dominance at the highest difficulty level Revis set his still-standing passer rating record (29.1) in a situation where he had no business doing so. When you add context to Revis' already-phenomenal production, his accomplishments begin to appear borderline unbelievable. These incredible numbers elevate his dominance to an entirely new level: In addition to covering elite wide receivers man-to-man on a snap-to-snap basis every week, Revis did not have a strong pass-rush to make his job easier. The Jets ranked 21st in quarterback hit rate (13.5%) and ranked 30th in Pro Football Focus' cumulative pass-rushing grade (61.1). Revis took on an enormous workload. He was targeted 127 times in 2009, third-most of any cornerback that season - and yet, he only allowed 502 yards, which ranked 58th. The competition was extremely solid. In 11 of his 19 games, Revis faced a receiver that averaged at least 62.5 yards per game in 2009 (pace for 1,000). That group doesn't even include two games against Buffalo's Terrell Owens (51.8 YPG at 36 years old), who, despite his age and lackluster overall production, averaged 56.1 YPG (pace for 898 yards) and a strong 8.5 yards per target outside of two games against Revis in which he averaged 22.0 yards on 2.6 yards per target. Owens even had a three-game stretch with 126.0 YPG heading into his Week 12 matchup against Revis (3 catches for 31 yards). You can throw in Jacksonville's Mike Sims-Walker (57.9 YPG overall), who averaged 63.1 YPG as a starter outside of one shortened appearance and his 49-yard game against the Jets (Sims-Walker caught only 1-of-3 passes for 9 yards against Revis' coverage). With the three games against Owens and Sims-Walker thrown in, that's 14 games on an island against good-to-elite receivers. Round it all up, and Revis allowed the lowest passer rating in modern history despite: Little-to-no pass-rush help Dealing with an enormous amount of targets in his direction Living on an island against the opponent's best weapon each play Facing a quality No. 1 receiver in 14 of 19 games That cannot be described as anything but the greatest season of cornerback play the world has ever seen. Making more plays than his matchups In 2009, a pass into Revis' coverage was more likely to result in Revis making a play on the football than the receiver moving the chains. Revis gave up a measly 27 first down receptions (just 21.7% of targets) while making a play on 35 passes (27.6% of targets), recording 27 breakups and eight interceptions. The 2009 NFL average ratio of passes defended-to-first downs allowed was 0.42. Revis’ ratio was 1.30. That's more than triple the norm. Regular old handoff or a throw to my superstar wideout? Against Revis, you were better off handing the ball to an average running back than throwing your best wide receiver. The average pass attempt in 2009 yielded 67% more yards than the average rush attempt (7.0 vs 4.2). In a vacuum, passing plays flat-out offer far more upside than rushing plays. Not against Revis. He allowed only 3.95 yards per target, a few ticks below the league average of 4.24 yards per rush. Facing a crucial 4th & 4? Handing that ball to your running back is a better play than trying to feed your star wideout when he's stranded on Revis Island. EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 18: Terrell Owens #81 of The Buffalo Bills lines up against Darrelle Revis #24 of The New York Jets during their game on October 18, 2009 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) 2010 season Intimidation After his monstrous 2009 season, teams were afraid to try Revis in 2010. Still shadowing top weapons, Revis was targeted only 67 times in 2010, an average of 4.2 per game compared to the 6.7 that he faced in 2009. He was targeted at the third-lowest frequency of any cornerback, seeing the ball come his way once every 8.4 snaps in coverage. His 2009 average was 4.9. Revis' on-ball production in 2010 (only 10 passes defended, 0 interceptions) gives off the impression that he had a down year, but he really didn't. He was just so intimidating that his mere presence shut down an entire half of the field. Revis allowed only 25.7 yards per game, his best mark out of seven healthy seasons with the Jets. Red-hot finish Revis started cold in 2010, allowing 9-of-22 passing for 190 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions over his first four games. He missed two games with a hamstring injury in the middle of that stretch. After that rocky start, Revis returned to his previous levels of dominance over the next 12 regular season and playoff games. From Week 7 through the AFC Championship Game, Revis allowed 19-of-45 passing for 221 yards (4.9 per target / 18.1 per game) and zero touchdowns while committing zero penalties. His average of 0.52 yards allowed per cover snap was tops out of 64 qualified cornerbacks over that span. Revis was listed on the injury report as probable with his hamstring injury going into 11 of his final 14 games. His airtight coverage in spite of that nagging issue was amazing. Lockdown playoff run A stingy stretch in the playoffs was the cherry on top of Revis' phenomenal 2010 turnaround. Over three postseason games against the Colts, Patriots, and Steelers - who ranked fourth, first, and third in pass offense DVOA, respectively - Revis allowed 6-of-10 passing in his direction for 42 yards (4.2 per target / 14.0 per game). He logged equally as many pass breakups as first downs allowed (3 each). Reggie Wayne (3rd in NFL with 1,355 receiving yards in 2010) picked up one catch for one yard in the Wild Card game, while Mike Wallace (5th with 1,257 yards) collected one catch for six yards in the AFC Championship. PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 23: Darrelle Revis #24 of the New York Jets breaks up a pass intended for Mike Wallace #17 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2011 AFC Championship game at Heinz Field on January 23, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Jets 24 to 19. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) 2011 season Return to elite play-making Teams started looking Revis' way more regularly once again in 2011, and he made them pay just as he did in 2009. Revis ranked third in the league with 21 passes defended. Amassing those across 85 targets, Revis made a play on 24.7% of targets, not too far off from his rate of 27.6% in 2009. Back to making quarterbacks look foolish Revis allowed a passer rating of 45.6 in 2011, which was the best among qualified cornerbacks in the regular season. He had an unbelievable stretch from Weeks 2-5 in which he was targeted nine times and allowed only one catch for four yards. Overall, Revis allowed 35-of-85 passing for 508 yards (6.0 per target / 31.8 per game), one touchdown, and four interceptions. 2015 season Revis' return started off on the right foot From Weeks 1-9 of 2015 (8 games), Revis allowed the second-lowest passer rating (44.0) and fifth-fewest yards per cover snap (0.73) among qualified cornerbacks. Production-wise, he was very close to the player he once was in the first half of his return season. LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Darrelle Revis #24 of the New York Jets intercepts a pass intended for Jarvis Landry #14 of the Miami Dolphins during the game at Wembley Stadium on October 4, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images) The second half of 2015 was a different story, as Revis allowed the 12th-most yards per cover snap among qualified cornerbacks (1.55) from Weeks 10-17 while battling concussion issues. 2008 season Revis had already elevated to elite status before 2009 While his 2009 season steals the spotlight, Revis first ascended to stardom the year prior, his second season with the team. In 2008, Revis allowed 49-of-84 passing for 510 yards (6.1 per target / 31.9 per game), two touchdowns, and five interceptions. He yielded the ninth-lowest passer rating (59.1) and eighth-fewest yards per cover snap (0.81) among qualified cornerbacks in the regular season. Overall accomplishments Passes defended Revis recorded 112 passes defended in the regular season for the Jets, which leads the franchise by an enormous margin since the stat was first tracked in 1999. That total is 49 ahead of Antonio Cromartie's second-ranked total of 63 and more than double Kerry Rhodes' third-ranked total of 48. Avoiding penalties From 2008-12, Revis was called for just 13 penalties over 4,344 defensive snaps (regular season and playoffs), an average of 3.0 per 1,000 snaps. For reference, the 2019 average at cornerback was 6.3. If Revis amassed penalties at the position's average rate of 6.3-per-1,000 over 4,344 snaps, he would have totaled about 27 penalties. Revis' discipline saved the Jets approximately 14 penalties versus average over his 69 games from 2008-12. All-time great impact Revis accumulated 86 approximate value (a rough estimate of cumulative impact) over 108 games with the Jets. That puts Revis at 17th on the franchise's all-time approximate value leaderboard even though he is only tied for 60th in games played. His average of 0.80 AV per game stands as the franchise record for a defensive player. Powering an unbelievable pass defense The Jets allowed the fewest passing yards per game (185.1) and lowest passer rating (68.7) from 2008-10. In 2009, the Jets led the NFL with a 58.8 passer rating allowed. No team has bettered that mark since, and it stands as the fourth-best number since 2000. Additionally, the Jets allowed an unbelievable ratio of eight touchdown passes to 17 interceptions that season, becoming the first team to allow eight-or-fewer touchdown passes and pick off at least 17 passes since the 1982 Dolphins. Once again, no team has done that since. NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 16: New York Jets Darrelle Revis poses for a portrait on March 16, 2010 in New York, New York. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) There is no debating it. Peak Darrelle Revis treated Jets fans to the greatest cornerback play that the world has ever seen.