Tag: Stephon Gilmore

Winners and losers from Patriots’ unsettling loss to Texans

This loss will doubtlessly shake New England.

Bill O’Brien finally got his win over Bill Belichick.

The Houston Texans had five straight losses against Belichick under O’Brien, who served as the Patriots offensive coordinator in 2011. Finally, the mentee surpassed the mentor — at least for the night. The Texans beat the Patriots, 28-22. New England’s offense sputtered until late in the game when the Texans started to get complacent — and the Patriots nearly made Houston pay. While the Patriots’ playoff picture isn’t grim, it is certainly growing more complicated with the Baltimore Ravens (10-2) and even the Buffalo Bills (9-3) looking impressive.

Here are the winners and losers from Belichick’s embarrassing loss to the Texans in Week 13 at NRG Stadium on Sunday night.

Winner: James White, RB

He proved to be the Patriots’ most trustworthy option when they fell into a deep hole. He began to gash the defense as a runner and as a pass-catcher. He faced a cornerback in coverage, which at first proved a smart game planning move by Houston. But that meant that, for the most part, the Texans were forced to take a linebacker off the field when White was in the game. That surely helped on White’s 14 carries for 79 yards. With less weight on defense, White seemed to find space in the middle of the defense.

But he also did what he does best. He had eight catches for 98 yards and two touchdown. White was the best and most reliable pass catcher for New England on Sunday in an otherwise rough performance.

Loser: Tom Brady, QB

While trailing 11 points at halftime, Brady had a quarterback rating of 28.8.

The quarterback told his receivers in the first quarter on the sideline that he needed them to be faster, quicker and more explosive. It was clear they weren’t separating well downfield. In the second half, the story was similar until late in the game when Brady padded his stats in a big way (24/47, 326 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT). Only Julian Edelman began to find space (6 catches, 106 yards, 1 TD). The rest of the receivers — Mohamed Sanu, Phillip Dorsett, Jakobi Meyers and N’Keal Harry — proved fairly unreliable at the most important moments.

Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel was clearly one step ahead of Brady while doing what no one has had the sense to do so far this season. Crennel treated White like a receiver by putting a cornerback on him for the first three quarters. Crennel also put a double team on Edelman in the first half.

Even with White and Edelman stepping up in the second half against slackened coverage, Brady looked fairly helpless. He hasn’t been able to elevate the game of his supporting cast in 2019 — and that’s an alarming sentiment considering Brady’s age.

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Texans 100: Facts and Figures for Patriots on Sunday Night Football, No. 76-100

The facts conclude with a look at the NBC Sports broadcast crew, and a few Houston Texans and New England Patriots defense and special teams stats.

The Houston Texans and the New England Patriots get ready for Sunday Night Football at NRG Stadium, and we finish up the 100 facts with a look at the clubs’ special teams, defense, and a few top performers.

Facts and Figures for Patriots, No. 1-25

Facts and Figures for Patriots, No. 26-50

Facts and Figures for Patriots, No. 51-75

broadcast facts

Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

76. This is the fifth game in the series to be in prime time, including playoffs.

77. NBC will be broadcasting their second game in the series. Here is the breakdown by network:

CBS: 9

NBC: 1

ESPN: 1

NFL Network: 1

 

78. The Texans are 5-5 on NBC with a 2-0 record in postseason.

79. The Texans are 3-5 when Al Michaels calls their games.

80. The Texans are 4-5 when Collinsworth does color commentary for their games.

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3 keys for Patriots to beat Texans in Week 13

Three keys for the New England Patriots to defeat the Houston Texans in Week 13.

The New England Patriots (10-1) will look to win 11 games in a season for the tenth consecutive year when they take on the Houston Texans (7-4) in this week’s Sunday Night Football matchup in Texas. Here are the Patriots’ three keys to victory.

1. Win game’s marquee player matchup

All eyes will be on the battle between Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore this Sunday.

Unless Gilmore faces off against Saints receiver Michael Thomas in Super Bowl 54 this February, this will be the undisputed best receiver-cornerback matchup of the season.

Gilmore has had his way with several of the league’s marquee receivers this year, which is why he’s one of the favorites to take home the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Will he take Hopkins — six catches, 85 yards combined in last two games versus Gilmore — out of the game as he did the likes of Amari Cooper and Odell Beckham Jr. earlier this year?

2. Pressure/contain Deshaun Watson

Watson — 301 rushing yards (4th among QBs), five touchdowns —  isn’t exactly Lamar Jackson when on the run, but he’s a mobile quarterback capable of extending plays and scrambling for back-breaking third down conversion runs.

The Texans already have trouble protecting Watson (sacked 32 times) with their lackluster offensive line. This should encourage Bill Belichick to include a variety of pressure stunts and blitzes to the gameplan, that would send the likes of Jamie Collins and others after the Texans franchise passer.

Additionally, Kyle Van Noy, John Simon and Chase Winovich should be asked to contain Watson, keeping him in the pocket.

3. Gauge offensive approach along the way

Behind the return of left tackle Isaiah Wynn, Sony Michel and the Patriots found some success on the ground last Sunday versus the Dallas Cowboys.

They’d be wise to attempt to run on the Texans’ 17th-ranked run defense which allows 108 yards per game on the ground.

Although not an overly-porous unit, success can be had there with a good day of blocking a la last winter. The Patriots are capable of that again this season, even with their current unit up front.

But if the Patriots are stymied at the line, then a spread-it-out approach against the NFL’s 25th-ranked pass defense (in terms of yardage) may be the way to go.

Not that they need to be told, but the Patriots offense should be extra-flexible (and versatile) this week.

8 Patriots miss practice with an illness in Week 13

Stephon Gilmore and Dont’a Hightower were among those absent from practice.

New England Patriots are famous for placing players on injured reserve with the “Foxborough Flu” to stash those player for the season. But in practice on Wednesday in Week 13 ahead of game against the Houston Texans, New England seemed to have a legitimate case of the Foxborough flu.

Safety Patrick Chung, linebackers Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower, tackle Isaiah Wynn, cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Joejuan Williams, tight end Ryan Izzo and guard Jermaine Eluemunor were absent from practice due to illness. Chung also had an injury designation (heel/chest).

Tackle Marcus Cannon, who was dealing with an illness last week, was limited in practice on Wednesday. Linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley (knee), receivers Phillip Dorsett (concussion), Julian Edelman (shoulder), Matthew Slater (hamstring) and Mohamed Sanu (ankle), safety Nate Ebner (ankle/back) and cornerback Jason McCourty (groin) were limited.

Safety Devin McCourty said a handful of players were sent home with a sickness.

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Bill Belichick highlights Stephon Gilmore and ‘one of the best plays we’ve had all year’

Bill Belichick had high praise for Stephon Gilmore’s highlight reel play on Sunday.

Stephon Gilmore may have put together his best performance in his already-stellar 2019 season. During a Week 12 win, Gilmore erased Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper, who finished with zero receptions on two targets. To make a baseball reference, this game was Gilmore’s no-hitter in a Cy Young season.

While a shutdown cornerback usually has a quiet game when they’re holding a receiver without a catch, Gilmore managed to make a highlight-reel play. In fact, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday it was “probably one of the best plays we’ve had all year.” Gilmore was trailing Cooper into the flat, where quarterback Dak Prescott fired a target. Gilmore dove to make up ground, and intercepted the pass.

“It was obviously a great play,” Belichick said during a conference call on Monday. “His timing – that was one of the hardest catches. It would have been a good play for him to knock that pass down and he was able to extend and lay out and be able to complete the catch. That was an outstanding play.”

It didn’t hurt that the weather was awful. It was cold, snowy, slushy and wet with just about every unfavorable form or precipitation. Cooper can’t have loved trying to run, cut and catch in those conditions. But, of course, Gilmore was dealing with the same conditions, and he managed one more catch than Cooper. The receiver was asked how well Gilmore played.

“Like (a reporter said) said, I only go two targets against him, so it’s hard to tell how good he actually was,” Cooper told reporters after the game at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

Cooper did record one catch that didn’t count. An offensive holding penalty wiped away a big gain when the Cowboys receiver made a diving catch over the middle of the field. But Gilmore got lucky, and kept Cooper off the stat sheet. Luck was only part of it. Gilmore is an avid student of film, and was careful in breaking down Cooper’s tendencies, just like he does with every pass-catcher. That’s surely how Gilmore anticipated Cooper’s routes, particularly the one where the cornerback logged an interception.

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In past two matchups, Stephon Gilmore has had Deandre Hopkins’ number

Week 13 in the NFL will feature one of the best cornerback-receiver matchups that the league has to offer. 

Week 13 in the NFL will feature one of the best cornerback-receiver matchups that the league has to offer.

Stephon Gilmore and the New England Patriots will travel to Houston on Sunday night to square off with the Texans and Deandre Hopkins. After shutting out Amari Cooper in Week 12, Gilmore solidified his spot as the NFL’s best cornerback. Hopkins is coming off of a two-touchdown performance against the Indianapolis Colts and he was among the league’s best receivers last season.

In 11 games this season, Hopkins has amassed 81 receptions, 839 yards and six touchdowns. Gilmore has recorded four interceptions, while allowing a 40.6 percent passer rating and zero touchdowns. Gilmore is a 6-foot-1, 202 pound cornerback that isn’t threatened by Hopkins’ 6-foot-1, 212 pound frame.

Since joining the Patriots in 2017, Gilmore has went toe-to-toe with Hopkins twice — allowing six completions for 85 yards and no touchdowns.

With a Bill Belichick gameplan and one of the league’s most feared defenses, it could be a long night for Hopkins. The Patriots have a league-high 20 interceptions this season and they’re second in passing yards allowed per game with 158. Fortunately for Houston, they have a reliable quarterback in Deshaun Watson who is in the NFL’s lower tier of interceptions thrown with seven.

New England vs. Houston is a huge AFC matchup, but the clash within the game will provide entertainment the entire night.

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DeAndre Hopkins vs. Stephon Gilmore will be a battle in Texans-Patriots

Spectators will be delighted to see the battle of DeAndre Hopkins and Stephon Gilmore in Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots.

Perhaps no cornerback in the NFL is playing at the level of New England Patriots’ Stephon Gilmore — who the Houston Texans will see on Sunday.

Gilmore, 29, was a first-team All-Pro in 2018. In the following year, he is well on his way to making it back. The 6-1, 202-pound cornerback is playing at the highest level of his career. Pre-Week 12, he allowed a 40.6 passer rating in coverage, per Pro Football Reference.

“He’s got really good size, length, speed. Very smart. He’s been playing for a long time,” said Texans coach Bill O’Brien while talking about Gilmore on Monday. “Very instinctive, good ball skills, does a good job of being patient. He’s patient, he never panics, he’s got a lot of confidence in himself.”

In Week 12, Gilmore shadowed Dallas Cowboys’ Amari Cooper. The result: two targets, no receptions and an interception for the corner. The Patriots won. In Week 13, he will face a new challenge in the Texans’ DeAndre Hopkins.

Hopkins has 81 receptions for 839 yards and six touchdowns on the year. He is coming off of a game in which he hauled in six receptions for 94 yards and two touchdowns.

Hopkins has never scored a touchdown against the Patriots. Versus New England with Gilmore, he has caught a total of 15 passes for 154 yards split between two games.

While Hopkins has not found the end zone against Gilmore’s Patriots, time has passed since their last matchup. The wide-out, dubbed “Nuk,” has developed chemistry with quarterback Deshaun Watson. His game has improved from contested catches to physically imposing with boxing-type releases, fluid route-running and refined footwork.

By all means, Hopkins vs. Gilmore is slated to be the premier wide receiver vs. cornerback matchup of the 2019 season. No. 10 vs. No. 24 will keep spectators glued to their screens.

“It’ll be a good battle,” said O’Brien.

The 7-4 Texans will host the 10-1 Patriots at NRG Stadium at 7:20 p.m. CT.

Swing State: 3 plays epitomized Cowboys rough loss to Patriots

Analyzing the 3 biggest plays in the Cowboys’ 13-9 defeat to the Patriots using EPA and Win Probability metrics from nflscrapR.

It was yet another close defeat for the Dallas Cowboys, losing 13-9 to the New England Patriots on Sunday. The Cowboys are now 0-4 in games decided by four or fewer points in 2019. The difference between winning and losing came down to a few plays deciding the final outcome, the case in most close contests. The Cowboys needed to play their best brand of football in all three facets against the vaunted Patriots, and they fell short of the mark.

Here are the biggest plays of the game as measured by Expected Points Added (EPA) and Win Probability (WP) with data from nflscrapR. EPA measures the value of a play based on down, distance to first downs and field position.

No. 1 Chris Jones punt is blocked by Matthew Slater

EPA: -2.8. DAL WP Shift: 42% -> 37%

Neither team was able to gain much of an advantage through the first quarter. It was at the end of the Cowboys’ third drive when momentum would shift to the Patriots.

New England’s special teams unit proved to play a big part in the game and it started with All-Pro special teamer Matthew Slater. The blocked punt gave the Patriots perfect starting field position at the Cowboys’ 12-yard line.

The short drive was completed with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to rookie wide receiver N’Keal Harry to take an early 7-0 lead.

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No. 2 Dak Prescott pass short right intended for Amari Cooper INTERCEPTED

EPA: -4.6. DAL WP Shift: 26% -> 18%

It was still early in the game but after a touchdown by the Patriots the Cowboys might have felt pressed to score some points of their own. On this play Cooper ran a simple crossing route, but Stephon Gilmore is one of the best man-cover corners in the NFL.

It showed on this play as he basically ran Cooper’s route for him. Gilmore’s interception gifted the Patriots’ offense with ideal field position on their second consecutive drive.

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In spite of the turnover the Cowboys’ defense managed to hold the Patriots’ offense to a field goal try. After a successful kick the score was 10-0 early in the second quarter in favor of the Patriots. Miraculously, the Cowboys were very much in the game, but the early deficit was self-inflicted.

No. 3 Prescott pass deep left to Randall Cobb for 47 yards

EPA: 4.2. DAL WP Shift: 20% -> 36%

The Cowboys’ offenses has featured one of the most explosive passing attacks in the league. Cooper has been the team’s biggest contributing factor to this, but against Gilmore, his role was neutralized. It meant the team’s other receivers needed to have a big game in order for their offense to function as intended.

Those plays were few and far between.

The Cowboys’ biggest gain came on a 47-yard play from Prescott to Cobb in the fourth quarter. Cobb gained 42 yards after the catch but he would lose the ball on the play. He was able to recover the ball for some additional yardage, so altogether the play netted 59 yards.

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This was quite the swing for the Cowboys, but they would settle for a field goal on the drive. A successful attempt brought the score to 13-9; unfortunately for them it would become the final score of the game.

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Stephon Gilmore’s shutdown performances are breaking the NFL

Stephon Gilmore had more catches than Amari Cooper.

After the New England Patriots’ 13-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys, cornerback Stephon Gilmore repeated what he said all week: Amari Cooper is one of the best receivers in the league.

Maybe that’s true, with Cooper entering Week 12 in the top six in receiving yards (886) and receiving touchdowns (7). But with Gilmore draped all over Cooper for 60 minutes on Sunday, one of the best receivers in the NFL finished with zero receptions on two targets. Gilmore’s nickname is Gilly Lock. Indeed, Cooper was on-lock for the entire night. And that’s relatively remarkable in today’s NFL, with rules that favor quarterbacks and receivers more than ever.

“Then I guess I broke that,” he said. “I guess we broke it.”

Gilmore was quick to credit his teammates and coaches — that’s the “we” he’s referring to. They were excellent, too, whether it was cornerback J.C. Jackson, who made solid work of Michael Gallup (5 catches, 55 yards) or Jonathan Jones, whose only blemish was allowing a 59-yard catch from Randall Cobb. It was a product of a rub route, a good design by the Cowboys’ coaching staff. It was also a product of the Patriots’ scheme, which is bringing the safeties close to the line of scrimmage rather than putting them deep. That puts more pressure than ever on their cornerbacks. And yet that doesn’t seem to faze Gilmore. No safety? No problem.

Considering the Cowboys were the top passing attack in the NFL entering the game, the Patriots should feel good about holding Dak Prescott to a 57 completion percentage, 212 yards and an interception. The interception, by the way, was Gilmore’s. That’s surprising because Gilmore faced just two targets. Somehow, Gilmore finished the game with more catches than Cooper.

Was Gilmore confident he could shut down Cooper?

“Yeah,” he said.

Why?

“I believe in myself. He’s good. He’s a good player,” Gilmore said.

Gilmore was happy to see Cooper lining up in the same spot in the Cowboys’ formations for the entire game. That limited the routes Cooper could run, which helped Gilmore anticipate which route he needed to stop on any given play. But he kept in mind all of the film study he’d done — he found Cooper’s route-running particularly deceptive, with two totally different routes looking the same, until they weren’t.

“He wasn’t tough (to study),” Gilmore said. “He’s just — every receiver has their thing that they do well. … They lined him up in the same spot mostly every time, and I kind of anticipated it and tried to play tight coverage.”

Gilmore’s performance was enough to draw high praise from his head coach during a postgame press conference.

“Another great effort by Steph,” Bill Belichick said Sunday night. “He just works and prepares so hard for his matchups every week. He takes it as such a personal challenge. This is a really good group of receivers and a great quarterback and a great offensive line. Steph’s as professional as they come. He knows his 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.”

Perhaps fitting with Belichick’s comments, Gilmore stood just a few feet away from his iPad while he spoke to reporters in the locker room after the game. He never seems to let that thing get far — he never seems to stop studying his opponent. And it’s likely that after the game, he was either studying his tape from Sunday or getting a jump on his next assignment: DeAndre Hopkins. He, too, is one of the best receivers in the league.

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5 takeaways from Patriots’ hard-fought victory over Cowboys

Here are five takeaways from the Patriots — win over the Cowboys.

The New England Patriots improve to 10-1 after defeating the Dallas Cowboys 13-9 in a bad weather, sloppy game.

Offensively, the Patriots did just enough to squeak by with Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett missing from the lineup. Defensively, this unit showed up once again and slowed down the NFL’s most productive offense. The Patriots had an up-and-down performance from the special teams unit — but, Matthew Slater’s blocked punt changed the momentum of the game.

New England’s offensive line showed improvement with the addition of Isaiah Wynn and they’ll look better when the receiving corps regains their health. The Patriots aren’t the orthodox 10-1 team, but the defensive talent and coaching is keeping this team afloat.

Here are five takeaways from the game.

Young receivers make necessary plays for a victory

Without Sanu and Dorsett in the lineup, the Patriots had a dire need for their young receivers to step up and make plays.

The only active receivers heading into the game were Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers and Matthew Slater. Considering the fact that Slater doesn’t play offensive snaps, Tom Brady had very few offensive options to work with. Fortunately for New England, the young guys stepped up and made enough plays for a win.

Harry kicked off the day with a ten-yard back-shoulder touchdown catch — which was the only touchdown of the day. He recorded his first NFL touchdown and showed the ability to highpoint the ball and make impactful plays in the redzone. Meyers, an undrafted rookie, was able to pull in four catches for 72 yards. Brady’s trust was primarily in Meyers and Edelman, and both receivers accounted for 21 targets.

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