HOUSTON -- It mattered for Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to best New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis.
"The test, the media blowing up Revis Island -- I had to come out and answer," Hopkins said.
He did in a big way. Hopkins dominated Revis one-on-one in their first battle during the Texans' 24-17 win over the Jets.
Hopkins was asked if he'd been told all week how tough it would be playing against Revis. As he replied, he used air quotes as he said the words "Revis Island."
"Yeah, of course," he said. "It's 'Revis Island,' as y'all say."
What did he do to Revis Island?
"Played football," Hopkins said. "Went out there and played my game. Nothing special."
It actually was a special performance, though. Hopkins finished the game with 118 yards and two touchdowns. The first came when he ran a post route that left Revis sitting on the grass in defeat as Hopkins waltzed into the end zone. It was a 61-yard touchdown catch on a perfectly placed pass by quarterback T.J. Yates.
"A guy like Darrelle Revis has been in the NFL a long time," Hopkins said. "They study tendencies. They know what you're doing from the way you line up. When you run a route, you almost have to be perfect at it. You can't slip. Timing has to be perfect with the quarterback going against a smart guy like him."
Hopkins' second touchdown came on a 20-yard pass from T.J. Yates in the third quarter that he caught while being covered by Jets corner Marcus Williams.
Hopkins began to see more double-teams after Revis left the game with a concussion. Revis handled Hopkins on his own, but Revis couldn't prevent Hopkins' usual theatrics. There was at least one one-handed grab along the sideline from Hopkins. And it could have been worse. Hopkins was also open in the first quarter for what might have been a touchdown, but quarterback T.J. Yates overthrew him.
"With my mentality, I'm one-on-one, I'm going to win," Hopkins said. "No matter who's out there, I don't really care."