Don’t upset Cowboys' Stephon Gilmore. A.J. Brown learned the hard way

4-5 minutes 12/11/2023
ARLINGTON—Stephon Gilmore is a mild-mannered person. He speaks quietly and mentors people who request it. Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons said the veteran cornerback is one of the best additions to this defense. He mentions how Gilmore helps players with eating healthier, training and fine-tuning their techniques on the football field.
Gilmore’s presence is welcomed.
Here’s the thing: Don’t upset him.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown upset Gilmore in the Cowboys’ 33-13 victory Sunday night at AT&T Stadium. Brown did the one thing you probably shouldn’t do to a former Defensive Player of the Year: Call him old.
That’s what Brown did during the first possession of the game and after that Gilmore put on a show.
“I was mad,” said the 33-year-old Gilmore. “I was going to show him, that’s the only thing I could do. I’m still here and I think I did that today.”
Gilmore goes about his business quietly and it forces others to make some noise.
Late in the third quarter, with the Eagles down 27-13, they faced a fourth and eight at the Cowboys 30. In some ways, this was the ballgame. If the Eagles convert the fourth down and eventually score, then we got something cooking at AT&T Stadium.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts completed a pass to receiver DeVonta Smith on a crossing route. Gilmore came from about five yards away and tackled Smith for just a one-yard gain.
The Eagles offense had to get off the field.
In the press box, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn raised both arms and yelled. On the field, Gilmore’s teammates yelled at him. Gilmore just smiled because that’s all he knows how to do is make plays and smile.
“We had a blitz coverage and he was running across the field,” Gilmore said. “I knew it was fourth down. I knew he was going to make that catch but I just had to get him down before he got past the marker.”
Gilmore had one of his best games as a Cowboys player on Sunday. He also forced a fumble on the Eagles’ first possession of the second half, making a clean tackle on Brown. Overall, Gilmore took the responsibility of handling the best receiver on the field for the majority of the night. Yes, Brown had nine catches for 94 yards on 13 targets, but he had no scores.
The inability of Brown to make big plays, he also had a drop while covered by safety Jayron Kearse, was due to Gilmore’s tight coverage on him.
In the offseason when the Cowboys’ gave a fifth-round pick to the Colts for Gilmore, it was meant to bring 12 years of experience and a 2019 Defensive Player of the Year award while in New England to an already talented defense.
When Trevon Diggs went down with a torn ACL earlier this season, Gilmore was paired with another young player, second-year corner DaRon Bland.
With Bland, leading the NFL in pick sixes and interceptions, Gilmore just did his job quietly. Last week against Seattle, Gilmore made a major presence. The Cowboys took Bland off D.K. Metcalf and it worked to their benefit. In the first half, Metcalf had three catches for 108 yards and two scores. With Gilmore on him, he had just two catches for 16 yards and one score.
It was another example of Gilmore, at 6-0, handling a bigger receiver such as Metcalf who is 6-4. Sunday night, Gilmore was handling the 6-1 Brown.
Metcalf and Brown are tall physical receivers who need someone to match up with them. Gilmore met both in tight man-to-man coverage.
“I enjoy it because I feel like it brings a different part of me out sometimes,” Gilmore said. “I get bored on other guys and I like covering the best guy sometimes. I just get excited for it, who don’t want to go against the best guys? You know the ball is coming your way. It’s
exciting.”
The Cowboys are enjoying these moments as their season enters what coach Mike McCarthy calls the third trimester. Next week Gilmore will get another test against the Bills.
Stefon Diggs. Gabriel Davis. They’re waiting.
It doesn’t matter, just don’t call Gilmore old. Well, the Cowboys don’t mind it.
“It was fun,” Gilmore said. “I didn’t like he called me old at the beginning of the game. So it lit a fire in me a little bit. It was fun.”