Gilmore, not Butler, sent to the corner
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — This game was supposed to be about the Patriots picking on Malcolm Butler. Instead, it was more about the Titans picking on Stephon Gilmore.
The Patriots top corner was matched against the Titans top receiver Corey Davis for much of the game.
While Gilmore has fared well with many of the league’s best receivers, be it Sammy Watkins, Allen Robinson, Kelvin Benjamin or Davante Adams, he came up short against Davis.
The Titans top gun pretty much had his way with Gilmore, catching seven passes for 125 yards and a touchdown from Marcus Mariota.
“I could have won that matchup a little bit more, but he made some plays today,” said Gilmore. “I have to give my hats off to them.”
Following the Titans 34-10 win, Butler was more of an afterthought because he didn’t cover Josh Gordon or Julian Edelman. He had Chris Hogan much of the time, so there was no picking on him.
Instead, the Titans attacked the Patriots $65 million man Gilmore.
Quarterbacks have tended to avoid throwing in Gilmore’s direction, but Davis was targeted 10 times. Mariota escaped the rush and hit him with a 24-yard pass on the very first play of the game. Perhaps that’s more a reflection of the Titans not having many great receivers.
“I wasn’t surprised, (Mariota) goes to him on film,” Gilmore said, referring to what he saw in the leadup to the game. “He just made some plays today.”
For his part, Davis thought he might have some success.
“Going in, I knew I could win some of my battles today,” said Davis. “I did that a few times today and Marcus was dropping dimes all day, and we came out with the win.”
Gilmore, who seemed behind a step all day, didn’t make excuses for the performance. He gave Davis plenty of credit. But as he spoke in a group of reporters, it was obvious he had the sniffles and was battling some kind of cold or flu.
Asked later how he felt, he insisted he was fine. He would not attribute a case of the sniffles to his problems covering Davis.
Gilmore was in coverage on Davis’ first quarter touchdown in the left corner of the end zone. He was flagged for pass interference on the play, he second such penalty of the game, but it was declined.
Said Gilmore: “He just had a better day today.”