The New England Patriots suffered a disappointing loss in Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles that saw their defensive struggles take center stage, but don't blame cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

New England gave up 538 total offensive yards to the Eagles, with their secondary taking on the brunt of that with Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles throwing for 373 yards and three touchdown passes. Despite their issues on that side of the ball, Gilmore performed well with his individual play in the playoffs, as noted by Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.

Gilmore was one of the lone bright spots defensively for the Patriots in the playoffs, which became especially clear in the Super Bowl. In the second half, he was switched to primarily cover Pro Bowl wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, who tore up New England's secondary through the first two quarters, and he didn't allow another reception. He also made a great play on a Foles pass late in the second quarter, forcing Jeffery to bobble the ball into safety Duron Harmon's hands for an interception.

For the entire game, Gilmore gave up just a 17.4 passer rating on throws that Foles made to players being covered by Gilmore. However, the 27-year-old couldn't help his other teammates as they were torched on Sunday night. At this time, it's still not totally clear why Pro Bowl cornerback Malcolm Butler was benched.

In fact, this will be a huge question posed to the team and Bill Belichick over the next several weeks, as Butler's presence could have changed the outcome of the game given his importance to the secondary, perhaps limiting Foles' effectiveness throwing the ball down the field with Butler playing on the opposite side of Gilmore. Nonetheless, the stellar play of the veteran cornerback was overshadowed by the Patriots falling short of earning a second straight Super Bowl.