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Patriots’ defensive gamble with Christian Gonzalez ends in disaster vs. Rams
"I'm doing what they want me to do. Whatever they tell me to do, I'm gonna go out there and do my best."
Sunday’s meeting between the Patriots and Rams had all the makings of a standout game for Patriots corner Christian Gonzalez.
The second-year player has already established himself as one of top corners in the NFL — especially when it comes to negating some of the top pass-catchers in the league in one-on-one matchups.
Sunday presented a daunting challenge with both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua anchoring the Rams’ skilled offensive personnel.
Keeping both Kupp and Nacua contained for an entire game is a daunting task for even the most stacked defenses in the NFL.
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But the presence of a lockdown corner like Gonzalez at least offered New England the opportunity to negate one of the Rams’ skilled pass-catchers.
Sure enough, both Kupp and Nacua didn’t do much damage when matched up against Gonzalez.
Against Kupp, Gonzalez allowed two catches off of four targets for just nine total yards. Against Nacua? Gonzalez gave up one catch for 10 total yards.
The only issue for Gonzalez and the Patriots? Those one-on-one matchups between the corner and the Rams’ top offensive weapons were few and far between on Sunday.
“I saw them whenever they were on my side,” Gonzalez said postgame of Nacua and Kupp. I was playing the boundary this game. So I mean I can’t really focus on the other side if I got to focus on the person in front of me and just make the plays I got to make.”
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For most of Sunday’s eventual 28-22 loss, Gonzalez spent the afternoon lined up on the boundary, primarily shadowing Rams wideout Demarcus Robinson. Robinson finished with just two catches for 19 yards for Los Angeles.
Gonzalez’s reps against Robinson opened the door for both Kupp and Nacua to shred the rest of New England’s defense.
On an afternoon where New England coughed up four touchdowns and 402 total yards of offense, Rams QB Matt Stafford channeled most of his aerial assault through his top two wideouts.
Nacua finished with seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, while Kupp added six catches for 106 yards and another pair of touchdowns.
Despite a few adjustments that saw Gonzalez shadow Kupp during red-zone situations in the second half, Jerod Mayo, defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington, and the rest of New England’s coaching staff didn’t severely augment their gameplan.
The results spoke for themselves with Kupp and Nacua’s impressive stat lines.
“I mean, the coaches came in and told me what the game plan was,” Gonzalez said when asked if he was surprised about spending Sunday’s game on the outside. “I mean — I never look at it as surprised or upset or anything. I’m doing what they want me to do. Whatever they tell me to do, I’m gonna go out there and do my best.
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New England has a foundational talent in place moving forward in Gonzalez. But the rest of the Patriots personnel in the secondary struggled to execute the team’s risky game plan against the Rams.
Marco Wilson surrendered three catches to Nacua while in coverage against him, while Jonathan Jones was matched up against him during Nacua’s 12-yard touchdown in the first half.
On the Rams’ second play of the third quarter, Jones was burned in what was a 69-yard touchdown reception from Kupp — with the veteran defensive back’s sprawled-out attempt unsuccessfully batting away Stafford’s throw over the middle.
“I mean, look, Kupp had the one reception that was a huge chunk of those yards,” Mayo said when asked about Kupp and Nacua’s production. “Look, going into the game we have a plan, and we’re always willing to change that plan.
“Like I said earlier, I felt like we were going to be okay; thought we could outlast them. “We just thought that was the best thing to do. It’s a mix of man and zone, so, we thought that was the best thing to do.”
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Amid the growing pains that have come with this 2024 season, the Patriots have been bolstered by the promise of two playmakers on opposite sides of the ball in Drake Maye and Gonzalez.
But just as Maye’s playmaking hasn’t led to multiple wins amid a diminished supporting cast, the presence of Gonzalez alone in the backfield wasn’t enough to shift the fortunes of a defense that had few answers against the Rams.
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