Welker bottled up but breaks big one

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Take away one 73-yard catch-and- run by Patriots slot receiver Wes Welker and you'd have to say the Jets and cornerback Darrelle Revis did a pretty good job of bottling up the NFL's most prolific pass-catching threat this season.

But of course, you can't take away that one big mistake by Revis and safety Eric Smith on a play that got New England off to a flying start in the second half of a 30-21 victory over the Jets Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

Except for that one play, a receiver who racked up 40 catches for 616 yards and five touchdowns in his first four games was limited to four catches for 51 yards. But on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady made a play-action fake and found Welker with a perfect over-the-shoulder ball as he split Revis, who was lined up outside, and Smith on the inside.

Only a great all-out sprint by Revis and a lunging tackle at the Jets' 10 kept Welker from scoring. But three plays later, Brady hit wideout Deion Branch with a 2-yard TD pass for a 17-7 lead and a cushion the Patriots were able to protect.

"He got over the top of me and went straight up the field," said Revis, who rarely has seen an opponent make such a big play on his island. "He made a double move. We were playing zone."

"We were supposed to have him high and low, and we didn't have him in either one," Smith said of the double coverage he and Revis were supposed to play.

Until that point, Welker had more than his usual share of trouble. He dropped one pass and had another knocked away by Jets defensive back Kyle Wilson. Although the Jets occasionally played zone against him and shifted other defenders on to Welker, mostly it was Revis lining up over him in the slot and jamming the 5-9 waterbug at the line of scrimmage.

"He's different because he's a slot receiver and not your typical wide receiver at 'X' [lining up outside],'' Revis said. "He has a lot of tricks in his bag, and every time he's wiggling left and right."

Recalling the other catch Welker made against him in man coverage, Revis said, "I had him covered like a blanket, and it was like Brady shot-putted it up and straight down into his hands."

Revis also was called for interference against Welker on one play. But considering how Welker shredded every other defense he faced this season, it wasn't a bad day for Revis. "I haven't seen the stats," he said, "but it didn't seem like he had a big yardage game."

Five catches for 124 yards and a 24.8-yard average is a pretty good day for Welker, but most of it came on that one play. What hurt the Jets more was that the Pats were 7-for-14 on third-down conversions.

"We had our chances to get off the field on third down," Revis said, "and we didn't."