Delusional Bengals WR Tyler Boyd the latest victim for Stephon Gilmore

Give Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd props for having the courage of his convictions.

Marooned on Steph's Island, Boyd, who had one more catch (three on seven targets) than the guy covering him and less than half the yards (26) that Patriots corner Stephon Gilmore had on his two interceptions (64), remained steadfast that he owned the day.

“It was just one-on-one. I won the majority of the matchups,” said Boyd, the lone person on the planet that could possibly believe those words.

Gilmore had two picks, both while Sunday's 34-13 snoozer in Cincy was still a contest. He also eradicated the 6-foot-2, 203-pound Boyd in a day when Bengals QB Andy Dalton was begging for any weapon to step forward.

“We got bullied ... we did,” said Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor. "Guys could go compete, knock the ball down, go get a one-on-one. I think Gilmore had what, two of them? Ok. So their guys went and competed. They have a tough secondary. They play man-on-man coverage, and Gilmore’s one of the best in the league. We saw what that looks like today."

He probably should have been paying a little closer attention, no? The former Rams' quarterbacks coach got plenty of Gilmore in his grill on Super Bowl Sunday last February.

The South Carolina product has left a string of top receivers in his wake this fall – you can find the films at nfl.com, coach – guys like the Jets' Robbie Anderson, the Bills' John Brown, Cleveland's Odell Beckham and Dallas' Amari Cooper, to name a few. Sunday's performance, in which he picked up interceptions five and six on the year, the second returned for a game-breaking TD, was right there with the best of them.

“The first one I knew the middle route. I undercut it and made a good play. On the second one, I jumped it in mixed coverage, so I knew the pressure was going to get there,” said Gilmore. “I have great guys around me. I’m just trying to get better each and every weekend.

“We’re just trying to be in a good position. You never know when those plays are going to come. It could be anybody. We feed off each other. We knew they would give us opportunities, we wanted to make them pay. It wasn’t perfect, but we were able to turn it up in the second half.”

OK, so here's a dose of reality for the Patriots' contingent already lobbying for Gilmore's status.

See teammate Kyle Van Noy and his postgame Tweets (@KVN_03) for that one.

https://twitter.com/KVN_03/status/1206328572593557505

And...

https://twitter.com/KVN_03/status/1206362996848693248

In this one, at least while it was still a game (but not on the pick-six), he was set up to succeed by Bill Belichick's scheme and Dalton's incompetence/lack of arm strength.

New England primarily played seven in the box and two safeties lurking deep. There were two direct results from that strategy. First, Joe Mixon and Gio Bernard rolled up 163 yards on 30 carries (5.4/rush). That hardly mattered. As Bill expected, the Bengals bungled. But it also allowed Gilmore to aggressively pounce on the overwhelmed Boyd, which he certainly did.

The delusional Bengal pass-catcher blamed Dalton and play calls (indirectly).

“He (had) outside leverage. He had perfect leverage on an out-route. We were running an out-route to the field with man coverage — (having) outside leverage, think it’s going to be a pick?” wondered Boyd aloud to the media.

“The two plays he made were great plays. He sat on the curl (route) and played great leverage and the out-route. He was already in perfect leverage. We should have (called) a slant.”

But Gilmore continues to be the one All-Pro on this Patriots defense that has at times been stunning. Remember, this one comes off a week in which Patrick Mahomes was held to 56 passing yards in the second half.

Gilmore has been nothing less than scintillating. He showed it again Sunday.

Just don't try to tell it to Tyler Boyd.