Stephon Gilmore's performance Sunday night was yet another shutdown shoutout. Gilmore has yet to let up a touchdown this season, and when he faced off against Amari Cooper, we knew it'd be a fun matchup to watch. It was exactly that for Patriots fans.
Cooper went without a catch for the first time as a Cowboy, and with Gilmore covering the receiver on 26 of his 30 routes, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, he rightfully earned praise after the game.
On his interview with WEEI's Greg Hill, Tom Brady said Gilmore's play stands on its own. "Steph doesn't say a lot, but he lets play do the talking," he said. He went on to say that at this time of year, the Patriots offense and defense don't face off as much in practice, and he's okay with that. "I try to pick the path of least resistance, and I would say going through Steph is not the path of least resistance," Brady said.
Immediately after the game, Julian Edelman took it one step further, calling Gilmore a "monster," according to The Providence Journal's Mark Daniels. Duron Harmon told NESN's Zack Cox that Gilmore was "the reason that we won the game." Jonathan Jones told NFL Network's Mike Giardi that it's "the Gilmore effect."
When Bill Belichick was asked about Gilmore's performance in the post-game press conference, he said Gilmore consistently puts in the work.
"Steph's as professional as they come," Belichick said. "He knows the opponents inside-out, and his matchups, and the overall scheme and how to best play based on what our call is and what the situation is and so forth. He does a great job of that, so certainly a good day for him."
In his post game media availability, Devin McCourty said what Gilmore brings to the secondary is contagious and receivers really need to bring their A game to stand a chance.
"It's no secret, it starts with Steph. He goes out there, competes his butt off," McCourty said. "Every time someone makes a catch on him, it's going to be highly contested. They're going to have to make a great play."
And as for the man himself, Gilmore said after the game he was mad at himself for giving a play that ultimately didn't count, a 15-yard catch that was called back due to a hold. He took to Instagram on Monday morning, sharing a picture from after his red zone interception, with the caption: "Find Gilmore and go somewhere else."
Enough said.
