Things have to be really bad for the New England Patriots if even Christian Gonzalez is dropping a stinker. The All-Pro cornerback has been one of the most consistent players on a Pats team that has struggled to find consistency at other positions, but Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, Gonzalez was just like many of his teammates: overwhelmed and outmatched in a 45-27 loss that was functionally over by the third quarter.
This was the worst performance of Gonzalez’s pro career since he entered the NFL in 2023. Against Green Bay’s receiving duo of Matthew Golden and Christian Watson, the league’s highest-paid cornerback was helpless, consistently getting beat on deep routes and losing one or both in coverage for touchdowns. According to Next Gen Stats, Gonzalez gave up a total of 10 catches for 187 receiving yards on Sunday, the most of his career and the third-most of any player this season. He had given up a total of 196 receiving yards across his first six games. On Green Bay’s second TD of the day, Gonzalez and teammate Marcus Jones both covered Watson as he ran to the corner, leaving Golden wide open. Late in the third quarter, Gonzalez over-leveraged toward the outside against Watson, who just ran a skinny post and essentially walked into the end zone to make the score 40-14.
“I mean, they just got the best of me today,” Gonzalez said after the loss. “I mean, this is pro football. They got good receivers like every team. So, they got the best of me today. Move on from it and be ready for next week.” His head coach Mike Vrabel was a little more pointed in his postgame comments: “When your best players don’t play good, you don’t have much of a chance in this league. So, we expect a lot more. He expects a lot more. We need more from him and everybody else.”