Andrew Luck for MVP? Maybe it should be Darrelle Revis for MVP

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was supposed to be the prime-time draw for “Monday Night Football.” It’s not often a cornerback steals the show from a star quarterback.

Darrelle Revis isn’t like most cornerbacks. Like he did with the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots last season, Revis is transforming the Jets’ defense by taking away half the field. It wasn’t Luck who starred on the Monday night stage, it was Revis and a stifling Jets defense in a stunning 20-7 win. The Colts were about a 6- or 7-point favorite, but the Jets were the dominant team from start to finish.

Luck looked frustrated all night. There were plenty of times he dropped back to pass and just held the ball. Luck isn’t a quarterback who is scared to throw it into tight coverage. But on this night, on many plays, there was simply nobody open for him. The Jets invested heavily at cornerback in the offseason, signing a $96 million deal with Revis and also adding Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine. It showed. The Jets forced five turnovers. Luck was 21-of-37 for 250 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. The Colts look less like a Super Bowl contender and more like a team that just likes beating up on the terrible AFC South. Since the start of the 2013 season, the Colts are 12-0 against the AFC South and 10-12 against everyone else.

Revis was the centerpiece of the great Jets’ effort. He got shook and stiff-armed by T.Y. Hilton on one long play, which was shocking because Revis was so great before that. He had an interception, recovered two fumbles, and was a big reason why Luck looked bad (the Colts’ offensive line getting pounded by the Jets’ front didn’t help Luck either). Revis is as dominant as any cornerback in the NFL since Deion Sanders. It might be blasphemous to some, but it’s also possible that Revis is better than Sanders. He’s that great.

The image that summed up the night came from Colts running back Frank Gore in the third quarter, with Indianapolis trying to get back in the game. On a run from the 1-yard line, Gore had a clear path to the outside to the end zone. And he dropped the ball. The veteran with 2,450 NFL carries before Monday night just put it on the ground. The Jets recovered, and that unforced error loomed huge the rest of the night.

Gore made the most obvious error, but this loss will be on Luck. He has gotten a pass for most of his bad NFL games, because he was still a young player for most of them. And, he has had many moments of greatness early in his career. He was far from great on Monday night. And he was far from great in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills. Luck will probably get it going — likely when the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans start showing up on the schedule — but it has been ugly so far. A lot was expected of Luck and the Colts this season, but now they’re a pretty brutal 0-2 and the offense that was supposed to be so good looks lost. The Colts started 0-2 last season and made the playoffs (yep, the AFC South games started showing up in Week 3), so there’s more than enough time. But it’s a bad start for them, and especially for Luck. 

The same can’t be said for Revis. The Jets are 2-0 and outside of J.J. Watt, there might not be a better defensive player in the NFL. For at least one night, he was even more valuable than the Colts’ superstar quarterback.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab