Richard Sherman: Jets ‘came to the well one too many’ times

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – You don’t tug on Superman’s cape.

You don’t spit into the wind.

You don’t keep throwing the ball Richard Sherman’s way, at least not if you want to win.

“They came to the well one too many,” Seattle’s cornerback said.

Actually, the Jets went after Sherman two times too many. That’s the number of passes that Sherman picked off in the second half of Seattle’s 27-17 victory over the Jets, a game highlighted by repeated man-to-man matchups between Sherman and Jets receiver Brandon Marshall.

“A great, classy matchup by two terrific players,” coach Pete Carroll said.

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Sherman wasn’t perfect. He was beaten by Marshall for a 41-yard gain in the first quarter and then was defending Marshall when he caught a 17-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the second quarter.

But in the fourth quarter it was Sherman who picked off two passes, the first coming one play after he was flagged for defensive pass interference on a play where it appeared Marshall had been the one who pushed off.

“I don’t know about the call,” Carroll said. “But I do know that when he got his chances, he made the most of it. That’s just what you’re dealing with. You want to throw it at Richard, he’s going to get it. He showed that today.”

Sherman showed it twice, in fact.

For the first three weeks of this season, opponents had largely left Sherman alone. In three games, a combined total of eight passes had been thrown in his direction. Well, he had his hands full Sunday, switching sides of the defense repeatedly, and while he didn’t exactly shadow Marshall everywhere the receiver went, that was his assignment more often than not.

“I knew coming into this game it was going to be a dog fight with Brandon,” Sherman said. “He’s going into the Hall of Fame with a gold jacket because he has done it everywhere he has been. He did it in Miami. He’s doing it in New York. He did it in Denver.”

Don’t forget Chicago. Marshall was a Bear, too. In fact that was the team he was playing for in 2012 when he caught 10 passes for 165 yards against the Seahawks, including a 56-yard catch in the final minute that allowed the Bears to kick a game-tying field goal.

Four years later, Marshall remains one of the league’s top receivers. Sunday was the 148th consecutive game in which Marshall has caught a pass, the second-longest active streak in the league. His second-quarter touchdown was his 15th in 20 regular-season games with the Jets.

“He’s just a great player,” Sherman said, “and he’s going to make his plays and I knew that coming in. … I would have been really surprised if he hadn’t made any plays. I would have thought he was hurt or really banged up or something.”

The thing is that Sherman is able to make some plays, too. And the Jets kept giving him opportunities.

“That wasn’t smart,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “You can get him a couple times, but don’t keep trying him. He’s one of the best in the game. It wasn’t smart for them to keep going after him, but hey, it’s their prerogative.”

And while Marshall may have had the upper hand with three receptions in the first half, it was Sherman who caught two second-half passes from Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick while Marshall had only one reception over the final two quarters.

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