Cowboys’ Stephon Gilmore Fires Back at Eagles Star: ‘I Was Mad’
To suggest that Cowboys cornerback Stephon Gilmore completely shut down Eagles star A.J. Brown during Sunday night’s 33-13 Dallas thrashing of Philadelphia would be an exaggeration. In the end, Brown gained 94 yards and nine catches. However, once the game was all but decided, six of those catches came on quick passes in the second half.
Most significantly, though, one of Brown’s catches occurred during a play that resulted in a crucial turnover by Brown to start the second half. In the crucial moments, Brown was largely restrained by Gilmore’s attentive coverage. Gilmore is a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback who was acquired by Dallas during the offseason.
Perhaps the least sensible did Brown did on the day, more than the fumble, was talk trash to a player of Gilmore’s caliber. As part of that lip-wagging, apparently, Brown made a major error: He called 33-year-old Stephon Gilmore, “old”
Not a good idea.
“I just didn’t like how he called me old at the beginning of the game,” Gilmore said at his locker after the game. “So it lit a fire in me a little bit. I was mad. The only thing I could do was show him I was still here, and I think I did that today.”
Stephon Gilmore’s Strip of A.J. Brown Was Critical
When Philadelphia made their first drive of the second half, behind 24-6 on the road and trying to tie the game with a score, Stephon Gilmore made a huge play. Certainly, the Eagles’ second-half assignment would have been much simpler if the score had been reduced to 24-13 (or even 14). In just four plays, quarterback Jalen Hurts moved the Eagles 24 yards to Dallas’ 49-yard line.
Subsequently, he threw a throw over the middle to Brown, gaining seven yards and entering Cowboys territory. As Brown made the tackle, Stephon Gilmore was there, reaching in to take the ball away from him. Defence coordinator Dan Quinn, according to Gilmore, had been informing the defence that the Eagles would be vulnerable to strip plays.
That’s Why I wanted to Come’ to the Cowboys
Stephon Gilmore talked about how much he enjoyed playing against the greatest players in the league after his effort against Brown, which featured a career-high nine tackles. Brown most definitely meets the requirements—with 1,258 receiving yards, he is the second-most in the NFL.
“I’ve been covering the best guy and following him for my entire career,” Gilmore remarked. It’s exhilarating because, as I mentioned earlier, you know the ball is headed your way. It’s moments like those that make me get up.
“I told him I wanted him. Because you know the ball is gonna go to him. You can make plays so, like I said before, I’ve done it my whole career. And you know, it lights a fire in me. Because I love those moments going against other great guys on the other side of the ball.”
As it happens, Gilmore is just what the Cowboys have been looking for. When the squad started the season without top cornerback Terrevon Diggs, a lot of attention was paid to DaRon Bland’s performance as a stand-in. Gilmore, though, has managed to stay competitive.
“I wanted to come here for that reason,” he remarked. “I just wanted to come in and do whatever I can to help this team win because I knew the Cowboys had a great team last year.” I believe I contributed to this team’s victory, and I was able to demonstrate that tonight.
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