Among the bright spots of the Patriots' 2024 season is second-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who has quickly become one of the best at the position in the NFL. He impressed during his rookie season through just three games before suffering a season-ending injury against the Cowboys and has picked up where he left off as soon as Week 1 this year.
Because of that, he has been consistently covering the opposing team's best receiver one-on-one and shutting them down at every opportunity.
From Davante Adams and Ja'Marr Chase to D.K. Metcalf and Garrett Wilson, Gonzalez is not afraid of any top receiver in the league and the coaching staff trusts him to eliminate them from the game every week.
That's why it was expected he would cover Puka Nacua in Week 11 when the Rams came to Gillette Stadium. Although Cooper Kupp is still among the top receivers, Nacua has been nearly unstoppable this year when healthy, so the obvious choice was to put Gonzalez on him all game long, right?
Apparently not, and the Patriots had to deal with the consequences.
The Patriots made the wrong decision with Christian Gonzalez in Sunday's game
Because Nacua had another impressive game this year, recording seven receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown, reporters asked about the Patriots' thought process with Gonzalez when players and the staff took to the podium after the game.
Gonzalez revealed he was told beforehand that he would not be shadowing any single receiver as he has been all season long, to which he was (of course) open to doing whatever the coaches asked of him.
#Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez on the decision to not have him shadow Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua:
— Carlos Talks Pats (@LosTalksPats) November 17, 2024
“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…” pic.twitter.com/i0a9fE14gg
Given how poorly that went, it's fair to assume even Gonzalez knows it probably wasn't a good game plan. But Mayo doubled down on it when asked about the situation post-game, which isn't sitting well with analysts or fans.
It seems questionable at best not to have your best cornerback shadowing your opponent's best wide receiver, but at the same time, the Patriots should have a deep enough roster to accommodate that since Gonzalez can't cover both Nacua and Kupp simultaneously.
That made it more apparent that Jonathan Jones had taken a step back this year, especially when he allowed Kupp to run in a 69-yard touchdown, and Marcus Jones couldn't always be in a lineup with guys who had six inches and 50 pounds on him.
It would be wise for this mistake to be avoided over the rest of the season.