Analyzing Jet Mike Mix

Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine drew up the play that caused the Darrelle Revis interception on the spot.  Here is an analysis as provided by Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News

Jets Rewind: Analyzing ‘Jet Mike Mix’ in 27-24 win over the Cowboys

BY Manish Mehta

For all the talk about the Rob Ryan’s defensive genius, it was Jets’ defensive coordinator Mike Pettine who made the defensive call of the game with 59 seconds to go in Gang Green’s 27-24 win over the Cowboys last night.

Pettine dialed up a play called “Jet Mike Mix” and added a wrinkle that wasn’t part of the original gameplan. He simply drew it up on the spot.

The Cowboys took over on their 41-yard line with the game tied at 24-24. On first down, the Jets disguised their early pre-snap look to give the illusion that Darrelle Revis had one-on-one coverage with no safety help on outside receiver Dez Bryant on the right side. Pettine added another piece by inviting Romo to flush to his right out of the pocket by shading safety Jim Leonhard to the left. Then, the Jets quickly morphed to a true “Two Man” — or Cover-2 with a pair of safeties splitting the field and providing deep help. Bryant was effectively doubled-teamed with man coverage underneath.

Here’s the pre-snap breakdown from my morning film review:

The Cowboys had a 2×1 formation (two receivers to Tony Romo’s left and one to his right) with TE Jason Jason Witten and RB Felix Jones in the backfield. Revis was matched up against Bryant wide right. Antonio Cromartie was on Miles Austin in the left slot. Kyle Wilson covered Kevin Ogletree wide left.

The Jets had six men at the line of scrimmage with safeties Brodney Pool and Jim Leonhard seven yards behind the line of scrimmage, just outside the hash & inside the numbers. Then, Pettine baited Romo by sliding Leonhard back and shading to the quarterback’s left side of the field to help Cromartie and Wilson before the snap. Pool didn’t move.

Romo, who was in shotgun, had enough time to survey the field after Leonhard changed his position on the field. At that point, the Cowboys’ quarterback thought that he had Bryant singled up with Revis along the right sideline.

However, as soon as the ball was snapped, Pool bolted back and toward the sideline to give Revis over-the-top help, effectively double-teaming Bryant.

Romo was fooled, and rolled right — right into Pettine’s trap. Revis, who had the underneath coverage, easily intercepted the Romo’s errant pass and took it back 20 yards to set up Nick Folk’s game-winning 50-yard field goal.

“I don’t know if Tony was fooled by it a little bit,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “Unfortunately we made that turnover and gave them a chance to win that ball game.”

Bryant recognized the double team and correctly adjusted his route, which was initially supposed to be a comeback.  Romo didn’t adjust with his receiver, who kept running up field.

“That’s on me to adjust with it,” Romo said. “And I didn’t. That was stupid.”

And it cost the Cowboys the game.