The New England Patriots opened up the 2018 season with a win over the Texans, and these were the standouts from the defending AFC Champions.
After losing to Nick Foles in the Super Bowl a season ago, there’s no doubt that the New England Patriots have a little bit of extra fuel behind them entering the 2018 NFL season. That’s something that was much to the chagrin of the Houston Texans, the team who had to make the trek up to Gillette Stadium on Sunday in Week 1.
While it wasn’t a perfect day at the office for the Patriots, they got the job done. Their offense looked just as good as ever, with Tom Brady playing good-not-great on the day. Perhaps the most impressive showing was from the New England defense, who largely shut down Deshaun Watson and a potentially high-powered Houston offense.
Coming off the win, the Patriots as a whole have to be feeling good. Looking deeper though, these were the three New England players who stood out on Sunday in Week 1.
3. Stephon Gilmore
Plenty of people put a spotlight on the New England secondary coming into the season. After the drama surrounding Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl and his subsequent departure in free agency, there were seemingly holes left in the defensive back group for New England. However, Stephon Gilmore stepped up to show that he’s got the No. 1 position locked down.
The former Bill had a big day at the office. Not only did he notch the Patriots’ only interception of the day, but he also led the team with eight tackles. Just for good measure, the pick wasn’t his only contribution in pass defense as Gilmore also had two passes defensed on the day.
While the New England defense may have allowed 20 points to Houston, they played truly a bit better than that and Gilmore was a big part of that. If the veteran cornerback can play at this level for the rest of the season, he could be in store for a truly big year in 2018.