HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Bring on Deion.

	Keyshawn Johnson put on quite a show in the Jets' win over the Dolphins.

Coming off probably the best game of his career, against a top-notch cornerback, Keyshawn Johnson now gets to face Deion Sanders. And he can't wait.

Johnson made 11 catches, several of them one-handed, and scored two touchdowns in gaining 144 yards against Miami on Sunday. He ran crossing patterns and corner routes. He caught short passes and deep ones, almost all of them against Sam Madison, one of the game's best cover men.

Now comes the best as the New York Jets travel to Dallas.

"I think I've done enough to say I am a good receiver, but I am excited to get the opportunity to play against him," said Johnson, who has 77 catches for 1,025 yards and seven touchdowns in his fourth pro season. And he's done it with Rick Mirer and Ray Lucas as his quarterbacks.

"I've got to study him because he'll study me. One mistake and he'll bite you," Johnson said of Sanders. "I welcome the challenge -- he's a fine player. Maybe I'll make him go play baseball ... or then again, maybe he'll make me retire."

While the game at Texas Stadium next Sunday has playoff implications for the Cowboys, the Jets (5-8) are playing out the string. For Johnson, it's a chance to measure himself against the cornerback who has dominated his position for years.

Johnson played some against Sanders at the last Pro Bowl, but Sanders wasn't completely healthy. They first met when Sanders attended a 1996 pre-draft party for Johnson at the House of Blues in the Los Angeles area.

"He came to my draft party even though he didn't know me," Johnson recalled Monday. "He gave me some tips on the NFL.

"He's the best dude, and when you can back it up, you can say what you want. He's still got his flair."

Johnson heads to Dallas on quite a roll. He became the first Jets receiver since George Sauer and Don Maynard in 1967 and '68 with successive 1,000-yard seasons. In the last two games, Johnson has 21 catches for 242 yards and three touchdowns. With 293 career catches, he needs only 16 to surpass Andre Rison as the most productive four-season receiver in league history.

While Johnson didn't recite those numbers, he clearly was aware of them. He isn't afraid of comparing himself with guys like Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin and Herman Moore.

"These guys with 12-13 years in the league when I am speaking of them, I don't know if there is a better receiver in the league his first four years," Johnson said. "I've played with seven different quarterbacks and been consistent. I think I've accomplished well what they have -- maybe not the rings; I'm naked there -- in their first four years.

"Every time I've stepped on the field and am getting it done, what more do you want? It's something I've been doing since 1996, when the opportunity presents itself."

How many opportunities will present themselves this weekend? Johnson expects to see Sanders all the time, something he relishes. Before Madison, the NFL's interceptions leader, Johnson very rarely faced single coverage.

"With him, he don't need no help," Johnson said. "He's Prime Time. That's what they pay him for, to take away the best receiver.

"His experience and speed alone is enough. He's a player."

Johnson especially likes the way Sanders responds to criticism, which might be why he isn't about to say anything negative about Deion.

"I love when people produce when somebody says something negative about them," he said. "When he threw the bucket of ice (at sportscaster Tim McCarver), I loved that.

"The guy changes the game. That's why Dallas brought him down there."