ATLANTA — Stephon Gilmore put the capper on one of the most memorable single seasons in recent Patriots’ history on Sunday, becoming just the seventh player of the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady Era to land a Super Bowl ring, a first-team All-Pro nod and a Pro Bowl nomination all in the same year.
Toss in the game-changing defensive play in the win over the Rams, and it’s safe to say it’s been a dream season for the veteran cornerback.
“I couldn’t have done it without my coaches and teammates,” he said. “They push me every day during practice, during workouts. They push me every day. I believed in myself — I put a lot of hard work in. (But) I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches.”
While the individual honors were nice, when it came to Gilmore, the ring was the thing. In the wake of the AFC title game, he talked passionately about not wanting to go through the same experience he did in the wake of last year’s Super Bowl loss to the Eagles. So it was no wonder that after the game, when he spoke with team owner Robert Kraft in the locker room, it was the title he talked about.
“I finally got that ring,” he told Kraft.
In many ways, it’s sweet validation for a veteran who was only missing a Super Bowl title for his already impressive resume.
Stephon Gilmore was the highest graded cornerback in the NFL in the regular season. pic.twitter.com/kckXkPLqKa
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 2, 2019
