Christian Gonzalez's nonchalant response to Week 9 showing is bad for the Patriots

In the post-Tom Brady era, the Patriots have mostly relied upon their defense to keep them in the game, or even win them, as they struggled to find their next franchise quarterback and an offensive roster that was strong enough to make his job easier.

Although they appear to have found their quarterback in Drake Maye, constant injuries to the offense have made it nearly impossible for him to lead the team to wins this season. That was especially clear against the Packers in Week 9, when the Patriots got blown out 45-27 and more injuries plagued the offense.

Because the defense has been much healthier, the thought was that they'd pick up the slack. But that hasn't been the case over nine games, and they haven't been able to rely on their best, highest-paid players at all.

Christian Gonzalez is one of the more notable players struggling in recent weeks, which is terrible timing considering he was just awarded a massive contract extension that made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.

But his performance against the Packers was historically bad and the worst game of his Patriots career, which couldn't have been worse timing. The usual lockdown cornerback allowed 10 catches on 11 targets for 187 yards and a touchdown, with 40 yards coming after the catch.

Making matters worse, his response to questions about his performance after the game left many Patriots fans unhappy.

Christian Gonzalez doesn't put an end to worries about his recent performance

While speaking to reporters after the loss, Gonzalez was asked about his performance, which contributed to both Matthew Golden and Christian Watson recording over 150 yards each, something the Patriots had never done in franchise history.

Although his response was mostly fine, he seemed a bit too nonchalant about how badly he played, and that didn't ease concerns about his post-injury form.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating…but it’s football. I’m going to have a bad game.”

That's far from what you want to hear from one of your top players, whom you recently paid a lot of money to not have this kind of game.

Because he mostly covered Golden throughout the game, and the wide receiver recorded 10/10 receptions for 164 yards and a touchdown, Gonzalez was asked specifically what it was like matching up against him.

He took responsibility for some of his particularly bad moments, but how he finished his answer was a little alarming.

"It’s not the end of the world. I had a bad game. I’m not shaken up by it, I’m not too worried about it."

Not too worried about it? That's not exactly what you want to hear from a defensive leader who just got paid the big bucks.

It might not be a big deal if this didn't look like a pattern, but since returning from injury in Week 4 against the Bills, he hasn't played at the level he became known for, and Sunday's performance was the worst of the worst.

In Weeks 1-3, in games against the Seahawks, Steelers, and Jaguars, Gonzalez allowed 6 catches on 17 targets, just 38 yards, no touchdowns, and recorded 4 pass breakups.

In Weeks 6-9, in games against the Jets, Bears, and Dolphins, he allowed 20 catches on 23 targets, 324 yards, a touchdown, and one pass breakup.

Against the Packers, for reiteration, Gonzalez allowed 10 catches on 11 targets for 187 yards and a touchdown, with just one pass breakup. Considering the previous highest yards allowed was just 74 yards, this was an atrocious day for the cornerback, and fans deserved more explanation and reassurance that it won't happen again.

Is there a chance he's not 100% healthy? Did he return too soon?

Could this be the curse of the contract extension that we've seen countless times across the league?

Who knows at this point, but Gonzalez has a lot of work to do next week and moving forward if he wants to help the Patriots' defense and prove he's still a top-5 cornerback in the league.

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