Cromartie bounces back with big game

If given a second chance, Antonio Cromartie would run over Luke McCown in a heartbeat.

The Jets cornerback laughed as he recalled the play in his mind: the way he snatched the ball before it found its way to Jacksonville's Mike Thomas, and without breaking stride, sprinted up the right sideline and hurled himself into the end zone as he was hit by McCown.

"We thought that one was a touchdown, but he kind of did the Reggie Bush, USC-type thing, flying in there like Superman," an amused Darrelle Revis said of Cromartie's third-quarter play Sunday.

By then, the Jets already had taken control of the Jaguars, leading by 19 points in an eventual 32-3 pasting. Cromartie's touchdown would have been the icing on the cake for a defense that made four interceptions against McCown and held him to a 1.8 quarterback rating.

But the TD was overruled after official review showed McCown pushed Cromartie out of bounds at the 1-yard line.

"I probably just should have ran the quarterback over," Cromartie said with a smile, referring to his second interception, which he ran back 26 yards. "Once I watched the replay, I saw my foot hit the ground first before the ball got into the end zone so . . . We ended up scoring on that drive and that's something that you always want to do: turn the turnovers into points."

This time, he wasn't lamenting missed opportunities or poor decision-making as he did last week. Instead, Cromartie -- who also returned two kickoffs for a combined 85 yards and carried the ball once for a yard -- spoke of how much he enjoys playing football. He insisted last week's game, in which he was burned twice for touchdowns, was in the past. And his performance Sunday might have proved it.

With 6:14 left in the second quarter and the Jets up 12-3, he noticed Thomas running a double-post from a formation he had studied on video and intercepted McCown's overthrown pass for 37 yards. On the second interception, he said he knew the Jaguars would either try to score quick or "try to hit us with a deep ball." Either way, Cromartie was ready.

"He gave up two last week and this week he got two, so it's a great exchange," Revis said. "He had an unbelievable game. To me, player of the game."

Rex Ryan agreed, saying: "I hope teams keep taking shots at Cro."

Ryan expressed his disappointment in his defense last week by withholding game balls from the entire unit. But Revis is sure things will be different this week. "There should be a lot of game balls," the corner said. "Especially for Cro."