

Devon Still stays “Leah Strong.” (Jared Wickerham / Getty Images)

There were the usual number of NFL games Sunday but the best moment — the very best, hands down — occurred in Gillette Stadium and featured a tribute to a brave little girl.

The New England Patriots showed a video of Leah Still, the 4-year-old daughter of Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle whose fight has become an inspirational story. The Bengals kept Still on the practice squad so that he would have medical insurance to pay for her treatment and the team is donating proceeds from the sale of his jersey to pediatric cancer charities. Leah Still recently had surgery in which her tumor was removed and, on Sunday night, her dad was reduced to tears on the sideline as the Patriots’ cheerleaders each wore his jersey.

In addition, Patriots owner Robert Kraft donated $25,000 to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Leah’s name. “It’s great how everybody has been stepping up, not just from (Cincinnati), but across the country,” Still said. “It has just been amazing and it is great for the cancer community.”

The tribute, though, caught him off-guard. “I was surprised,” he admitted. “I didn’t know they had the jerseys on. And then they played the video. It definitely made it emotional to see the cheerleaders take off their jackets and to see the jerseys definitely took it over the top for me. We came here to play a football game with an opposing team and I didn’t expect them to show the support that they did today. It was amazing what they did today. It shows this fight is more than about football. Everybody is trying to chip in and step up for the cause.”

Last week, Still — who writes “Leah Strong” on his nasal strips — wrote on Instagram that his daughter is about to begin more treatment. “Start of the 5th round of chemo today…let’s go trooper! #SheLikesWearingMyShirts idk y lol”

Loading Start of the 5th round of chemo today…let’s go trooper! #SheLikesWearingMyShirts idk y lol View on Instagram

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“She’s a fighter,” Still said in an interview with NBC’s Josh Elliott. “As a parent, you always expect your child to look up to you. But honestly, since June 2, I’ve really been looking up to my daughter.”