Bill Belichick Has Warning For Patriots Ahead Of Stephon Gilmore Matchup

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Patriots quarterback Mac Jones will see a familiar face when he stares out at the Cowboys' defense this Sunday.

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who won a Super Bowl and a Defensive Player of the Year award during his highly successful New England tenure, now is in his first season with Dallas.

Though Gilmore is in the twilight of his Hall of Fame-caliber career at age 33, head coach Bill Belichick knows Jones will need to be wary when targeting the ex-Patriots star in coverage.

"Steph's had a great career," Belichick said Wednesday morning. "… Steph looks kind of like he's always looked -- long, disruptive, really good ball skills. You've got to be careful throwing the ball around him. He'll catch it."

Gilmore did just that when he faced the Patriots in 2021. A month after his messy exit from New England culminated in a trade to the Panthers, he undercut a Jones pass to Jakobi Meyers for an interception during a Patriots win in Carolina.

The veteran corner went on to start 16 games for the Indianapolis Colts last season before he was traded to Dallas in March. Gilmore now is the Cowboys' No. 1 corner after Pro Bowler Trevon Diggs suffered a torn ACL in practice last week. Gilmore has one interception and four passes defended this season and has played 90% of defensive snaps.

Before the Patriots faced the Colts last November, Jones called Gilmore "an all-time dude."

"He’s just a great cornerback and still is," said the QB, who received valuable film-study tips from an injured Gilmore as a rookie. "I have all the respect in the world for him and how he treated me when I was here young,"

DaRon Bland replaced Diggs as Dallas' other starter, with Jourdan Lewis manning the slot.

The Cowboys' defense looked dominant through the first two weeks of the season -- wins of 40-0 over the New York Giants and 30-10 over the Jets -- but struggled Sunday in a 28-16 upset loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

New England's Jones-led offense has shown improvement this season under new coordinator Bill O'Brien but still is searching for a breakout after scoring 20, 17 and 12 points in its first three games.