SAN DIEGO — There was a point in Darrelle Revis’ career when he would whoop it up after every big defensive play, which is a right granted to the game’s big-time cornerbacks.

Just look at Deion Sanders. Or even Ty Law. Or Richard Sherman. And certainly Brandon Browner.

But Revis made a conscious decision to scrap the celebratory tactics from his game while he was out for the 2012 season with a torn ACL. Revis had a long time to reflect during his rehabilitation process, and he determined it was no longer in his best interest to do anything that would divert his attention from the next play.

“That was a big moment in my life tearing my ACL because I had never been hurt seriously in high school or college,” Revis said. “It just gave me a lot of time to just think and reflect on my earlier years and where I’m at in my life personally, and where I’m at as a football player, how can I grow, what I can put in my game, what I can take out of my game, that type of deal, just reflecting on everything.

“That was life changing, being out for the remainder of the year when I tore it in the third game of 2012. It was just like, ‘You’re not playing the rest of the year.’ It’s like, ‘What?’ It kind of messed with my mental a little bit because I had never been in one of those situations of being hurt like that.”

Now, Revis made it perfectly clear that he has no problem with anyone who wants to showboat or jump up and down after making a play. He simply decided it wasn’t for him anymore.

“As I matured and got older, I feel like that’s too much energy to waste, and I just focus on what I need to do on the next play or the next situation that comes up,” Revis said. “I just look at it like that. I don’t need to be wasting all that energy. And guys are getting hurt. A couple guys tore ACLs trying to do dances or those such things or trying to celebrate, which I’m saying there’s nothing wrong, but you’ve just got to be careful. The game is very emotional. You might do something, and something might pop out of place because you’re just really emotional.”

Revis has been everything the Patriots could have hoped for when they forked over $12 million for his services in 2014, holding quarterbacks to 27-of-67 (40.3 percent) for 429 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions (one deflected to Devin McCourty) when targeting him, which is even more impressive given the talent of his weekly assignments. There have been 40 opportunities to two-step his way back to the huddle, but he just puts his head down and quietly returns to a group of 10 teammates who do the partying for him.

Revis’ desire to stay even-keeled helps him on the other side of it, too.

He admitted he was beating himself up after Packers receiver Jordy Nelson beat him for a pivotal 45-yard touchdown Sunday, and Revis still looked a little bent out of shape yesterday when he brought it up on his own. But Aaron Rodgers only targeted Revis once more for the rest of the game because he resumed his lockdown mode against the combination of Nelson and Randall Cobb.

Good moments, bad plays, whatever, Revis blocks them all out as much as possible because the sanity of a cornerback can fluctuate on any given throw. He said he doesn’t even give himself the opportunity to revel privately.

“People might pat me on the back like, ‘Hey, you’re awesome. You’re doing great,’ ” Revis said. “But I don’t see it like that because I haven’t really reflected on my whole career. I want to put that aside and focus on the task at hand. That’s executing my job, doing what I’m doing. I’ll have a bunch of years to reflect on my career when I retire. I’m only in my eighth year, so I still hopefully, if I stay injury free, I can play a long time. And when I’m done, I’ll reflect on that. I just tune that out and try to be the best corner I can be to help this team win. That’s what I try to do.

“Trust me, that Jordy Nelson play was eating me alive. But at the same time, I’ve been scored on before in the past, and those are plays I try to sit there and critique as much and as best as I can instead of (focusing on) the praise or getting an interception.

“Those are expected, for me to make those plays. But a play like the Jordy Nelson play, those are plays that usually don’t happen. Then I have to go back and look at film and say, ‘What did I do wrong?’ Or what were they trying to accomplish on the opposite end and how can I better play this? Those are the plays that hurt me because I want perfection.”

Revis offered a peek at what makes him tick, why he’s so well-respected for his craft. This is a performer who isn’t interested in discussing his contract midseason because he is too focused on getting the Patriots back to the Super Bowl.

Revis is on an island, both literally and figuratively, but he’ll never let you know it. He already stands alone among the game’s cornerbacks, and this sets him apart even further.