Christian Gonzalez quiets Ja’Marr Chase in strong season debut
In case there were any more doubts about Christian Gonzalez heading into the start of the 2024 season, those are a lot quieter after an excellent game against Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals.
Christian Gonzalez is a silent killer.
That’s how teammate DeMario Douglas described him in a training camp press conference, and it’s a keen observation for the soft-spoken Gonzalez, whose excellent play on the actual football field belies his quiet demeanor. Personalities and psychoanalysis are eternally overrated in sports, and Gonzalez is proof.
If Gonzalez plays well, he’s a silent killer. If he doesn’t, does he even like football?! It’s better to just focus on the on-field performance and not how he behaves as a human, because Gonzalez proved to be a force on the field in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, without having to even say a word.
MORE: 8 takeaways from the Patriots’ win over the Bengals
Thanks to Taylor Kyles of CLNS Media, there’s a handy montage of Gonzalez going against the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase in man-to-man coverage. Chase ended up with just three catches for 14 yards when targeted against Gonzalez, and six total grabs for a largely inconsequential 62 yards. And Gonzalez wasn’t always playing press coverage or lining up close to Chase, but made life hard for the receiver, anyway.
“That was the plan, they wanted me to go with [Chase],” Gonzalez said after the game. “I talked about it earlier this week … that’s what you want being a corner, that’s your dream, so being able to do that is fun.”
Overheard in the background: an unidentified Patriots teammate shouting, “[Gonzalez] said ‘He ain’t getting a new contract on me today!'” It’s certainly possible Gonzalez put those Chase contract talks on hold for a week.
Gonzalez has a long way to go toward proving he’s a true elite cornerback in the NFL, but on Sunday he did what the great corners of the league can do. He sticks to his target, mirrors routes, lulls a quarterback into avoiding his side of the field altogether. The kind of talent that can take over a game without breaking up a single pass attempt.
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The second-year corner has the size, speed, agility, and fluidity to match a wide receiver with similarly high-end athletic traits. He’s shown in a relatively small sample size of NFL games why he was a first-round talent and probably should not have fallen to the Patriots at 17th overall in the 2023 draft in the first place.
Gonzalez has no shortage of tests coming up, so now he needs to prove he can 1) stay on the field and 2) be consistent. He’ll likely draw the Seahawks’ D.K. Metcalf in the Patriots’ home opener in Week 2. Likely matchups include the Jets’ Garrett Wilson, the 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk and/or Deebo Samuel, the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill and/or Jaylen Waddle, and the Texans’ Stefon Diggs.
Plenty of football left, and still plenty to prove. But Gonzalez is off to a hell of a start.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
Patriots Ups & Downs: Who stood out in an upset win over the Bengals?
UP: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley
Bentley was all over the field in his first game captaining the defense under new coordinator DeMarcus Covington. He logged a team-high 12 tackles, and also generated a half-sack, as he was often shooting gaps to bring the pressure on third downs. The Pats defense was humming for most of the game, and it’s no coincidence that Bentley was heavily involved in that.
Sep 8, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Zack Moss (31) runs with the ball against New England Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley (8) and safety Kyle Dugger (23) in the second half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
DOWN: LT Vederian Lowe
Lowe isn’t as much of a “down” as Okorafor, as he came into the game as essentially an emergency backup. But it turned out that Lowe had to check into the game in the first quarter. He committed a false start during his first series and gave up a fair amount of pressure, but quarterback Jacoby Brissett handled it well. Despite the thrill of victory, left tackle remains a big concern for the Patriots going forward.
Next Patriots Ups & Downs comes after they take on the Seattle Seahawks in their 2024 home opener at Gillette Stadium.
