Antonio Cromartie had the kind of day that pretty much dares you to describe it.
The Jets' veteran cornerback stifled Colts star Reggie Wayne and picked off Andrew Luck twice in a 35-9 laugher at MetLife Stadium, but Cromartie negated any chance for player of the game honors by also getting whistled for three penalties during his coverage on Wayne.
One of those three flags negated one of Cromartie's two interceptions, as he was called — legitimately — for interfering with Wayne in the second quarter to wipe out what had been a highlight-reel 76-yard return for a touchdown.
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TOUGH LUCK: Andrew Luck is swarmed under by the Jets' Aaron Maybin (51), Calvin Pace (97) and Antonio Allan.
Both of Cromartie's interceptions, in fact, went for TDs nullified by penalties. The first pick stood but was reduced to a 13-yard gain instead of points by teammate Aaron Maybin's personal foul on Luck.
"I've just got to go back and make sure I clean it up in practice so they can't call those kind of penalties," said Cromartie, who was called for interference twice and illegal contact one other time. "This [victory] feels good, but I've got to clean that up."
Cromartie won't hear the Jets complaining, though, not after he almost single-handedly reduced Wayne to a non-factor just a week after the Pro Bowl wideout had enjoyed a game for the ages against the Packers.
Wayne finished yesterday with five catches for 87 yards, but those numbers couldn't be more misleading. Cromartie held him to just two receptions for 19 yards until garbage time arrived in the fourth quarter with the Jets up 28-9.
"You have to stay aggressive, and I thought [Cromartie] did that," Rex Ryan said. "He was penalized a few times, but when you're going against a great player like Reggie Wayne … I thought it was a great competition out there."
Cromartie's excellent coverage essentially allowed the Jets to solve two problems at once — Wayne and Luck, the No. 1 overall pick in the April draft. By eliminating Luck's favorite target (and by far Indianapolis' biggest threat), the Jets made him look like a confused rookie by forcing him to increase his reads.
No Wayne meant a hesitant Luck, which made the resulting four sacks by the Jets almost predictable.
"That was our game-plan," Cromartie said. "We wanted to get our hands on Reggie and try to confuse Luck at the same time by taking his No. 1 read away and force him to throw to the other side."
Cromartie was even more exhausted afterward because he also got snaps as a wide receiver and returned a kickoff in place of the injured Joe McKnight, but fatigue couldn't make him forget the next task on his plate — defending Tom Brady and the arch-rival Patriots on Sunday in Foxborough.
"It's a division game, and it's going to be a hard-fought game between two teams that dislike each other," Cromartie said, intentionally avoiding any repeat of the trash talk he directed at Brady in the past.
Cromartie was more concerned about the state of the Jets than the Patriots.
"The biggest thing for is making this a stepping stone and keep this boat moving forward. We know it's moving slowly, but at least it's moving.
bhubbuch@nypost.com
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