Patriots bad week just became an absolute nightmare
As if the blowout week four loss to the Cowboys last weekend wasn't bad enough, with Mac Jones having the worst performance of his career and Bill Belichick suffering the biggest defeat as a head coach, their week just hit an all-time low with the updates regarding Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon.
Both defensive players left Sunday's game due to injury, and it didn't look good for either of them from the start. They were both ruled out to return, which left little optimism regarding the significance of their injuries, and the latest updates about them both are devastating blows to the Patriots season.
We saw the first details about Gonzalez and Judon's injuries Monday afternoon, with ,NFL insider Adam Schefter revealing they would both be out indefinitely.
Judon was said to have suffered a bicep tear while Gonzalez was dealing with some sort of shoulder injury. More details were given by another insider, Tom Pelissero, on Tuesday morning, where he revealed the star linebacker would be undergoing surgery to repair his biceps and would miss at least two months of the 2023 season.
#Patriots DE Matthew Judon is expected to miss at least two months because of his biceps injury, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 3, 2023
Judon will have surgery Wednesday and they'll know more afterward about whether he can return this season.
As far as Gonzalez is concerned, there really haven't been any updates about his status. His trainer did post a photo to his Instagram that showed the rookie in a sling, but the images have since been deleted.
According to a source, Mike Kadlick of CLNS Media also tweeted that Gonzalez suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder, but that is yet to be verified. Regardless, it doesn't look good for the Patriots' defense, as they are set to lose the two best players for the foreseeable future.
It’s a torn right shoulder labrum for #Patriots Christian Gonzalez, per a source. https://t.co/4r6ULDpkHS
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) October 2, 2023
With an offense unable to overcome the obstacles set before them, especially ones they created on their own, the defense has had to step up and ensure the game doesn't get out of hand. Gonzalez and Judon have been the leaders in making that happen, and now that they're gone, there are a lot of questions regarding the state of the Patriots as a whole.
How will the rest of the team step up?
Will Jack and Jonathan Jones return to the field soon to help bridge the gap left by Gonzalez?
Can guys like Josh Uche and Keion White become star pass rushers with Judon out?
Many questions will need to be answered over the next few weeks, and the rest of the season may not go as well as hoped, but it sure will be interesting to watch.