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He’s the top cornerback for the New England Patriots, but Christian Gonzalez wasn’t asked to cover either one of the Los Angeles Rams’ leading wide receivers, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, in Week 11.
Instead, Pats head coach Jerod Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington left their best corner on third receiver Demarcus Robinson. To the surprise of nobody, Kupp and Nacua ran riot, helping inflict a 28-22 defeat on the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
It was a curious plan to say the least, but Gonzalez didn’t throw his coaches under the bus when speaking after the game on Sunday, November 17. The second-year pro told reporters, including Zack Cox of the Boston Herald, “The coaches came in and told me what the game plan was. I never look at it as surprised or upset or anything.”
While he presented a unify front, Gonzalez didn’t completely tow the party line. The 17th player taken in the 2023 NFL draft did give “props to (Rams quarterback Matthew) Stafford and Puka and Kupp. They came in and did what they had to do,” per Mike Kadlick of CLNS Media.
Was this a tacit admission by Gonzalez the Patriots had the wrong plan for the Rams? Maybe, maybe not, but Gonzalez did provide more details than Mayo.
He simply said “he believed keeping CB Christian Gonzalez on the boundary rather than shadowing a Rams WR was the best thing to do,” according to Doug Kyed of The Boston Herald.
That’s a thin response to an obvious tactical misstep. The Pats would surely have fared better had they let Gonzalez shadow either Kupp or Nacua.
Christian Gonzalez Not Allowed to Go Best on Best
It remains a mystery why the Patriots didn’t play best on best. Leaving Gonzalez on the perimeter only made Matthew Stafford want to throw to Kupp and Nacua more often.
Stafford having a virtual free pass to look for his best receivers resulted in some huge numbers and more than a little confusion among Patriots observers.
The Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan couldn’t see the reasoning behind the Gonzalez, non-shadow strategy: “Look, I know the horse is dead. I get it. But make it make sense. How is Christian Gonzalez still covering Demarcus Robinson when Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua are on the field? Those are the 2 guys you have to stop against LA, and they’ve already done this with 29 minutes left.”
Callahan’s bewilderment was shared by his colleague Kyed: “Rams WRs: Puka Nacua: six catches, 117 yards, TD Cooper Kupp: three catches, 79 yards, two TDs But at least Demarcus Robinson isn’t beating Christian Gonzalez on the boundary.”
The numbers looked worse when the game had ended. Nacua’s final stat line showed seven receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown, while Kupp snagged six receptions for 106 yards and two scores.
As for Robinson? He had two catches for 19 yards from four targets, but the Patriots still lost.
The hosts weren’t beaten just because they didn’t make smart use of personnel on the back end. They also failed to disrupt Stafford in the pocket.
Patriots Defense Made It Easy on the Rams
Stafford wasn’t sacked once and took just four hits, according to ESPN. Those numbers added up to a tame outing for a Patriots pass rush that had nine sacks against Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears last week.
Pressure should have been even more frequent against the Rams after the return of defensive tackle Christian Barmore. The Patriots also had a roving mismatch who was supposed to keep the Rams guessing up front.
Stafford was too comfortable throwing on-platform from a serene pocket. His job was also made easier by the Rams knowing exactly where Gonzalez would line up.
Gluing their premier coverage asset to the sideline left the Patriots vulnerable to the kind of motioning the Rams love. Callahan described how the “Rams adjusted to the #Patriots plan of keeping Christian Gonzalez in the boundary. That drive, they motioned WRs into the field and left Gonzalez opposite 2 TEs or a non-Kupp/Puka WR. Puka started off with a 25-yard catch. Kupp finished with a 5-yard TD. Both away from Gonzo.”
This simple adjustment and its devastating impact on the Patriots only adds to the mystery of why Mayo and Covington essentially kept Gonzalez on ice.
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