The best player for the Patriots this summer has been their best player through the first two weeks of the regular season. Christian Gonzalez has, at least so far, made a case as the top cornerback in football.
Per Next Gen Stats, the fourth-year pro didn’t allow a single catch when matched up head-to-head with Jaxon Smith-Njigba in week one, then followed it up by surrendering just three catches (two on screens) for 11 yards (34 snaps) against D.K. Metcalf.
“I think you’ll appreciate a good defensive back on your team,” Drake Maye said earlier this week. “It's one of the coolest things about playing quarterback because you realize a route concept they run, what he's doing and mixing up release, jamming and playing shadow. So, it's really cool to see every week, and he just attacks it every day. He's not going to say much, but you know that every time the lights come on, No. 0’s going to come to play.”
Actually, Drake, I hate to correct you, but Gonzalez was seen chirping at the Steelers’ top wideout, and seemed to relish the frustration his tight coverage caused. It would have been easy to get caught up in some retaliatory type behavior. Not this kid. He remained calm, cool and collected, celebrating with teammates, engaging the crowd and reveling in his performance and that of the team.
“I think it is a level of maybe comfortability being just in the league, understanding the game more,” he said. “As far as confidence, I feel like I've always been like this. Yes, I don't talk that much, but I mean, I talk. I think everybody thinks I don't say a word. I've always say stuff, but it just kind of I don't talk as much.”
What I see is a player coming out of his shell. The Gonzalez I observed in the locker room last year mostly kept to himself. This year’s version isn’t what I’d call outgoing, but I’ve seen him interact with teammates more often. Mike Vrabel had talked late last season about Gonzalez wanting to become a captain, and while he didn’t get the nod this year - the two-week injury and the contract stalemate may have influenced that - this may be the next step in that evolution.
“I would say kind of more just by example,” he said when asked about his leadership style. “I mean, if guys ever need anything, I know they'll come up and ask. You know, just giving tips to rookies, to younger players. I mean, even older players. Like with CD (Carlton Davis), he's been in the league, and we kind of just run ideas of how we play certain routes off of each other, and just little things like that. I'm definitely not the rah-rah, have-a-pregame-speech guy.”
You don’t have to be that to earn teammates' respect. Stephon Gilmore approached his job the same way and became the Defensive Player of the Year in 2018. When I asked Davis what stood out most about his running mate, he thought about it for a while before saying Gonzalez’s fluidity was what got him.
“How smooth he looks coming out of breaks and everything like that,” Marcus Jones said, in agreement with Davis. “It's kind of crazy.”
Kevin Byard declared Gonzalez is the best corner in football. I wondered if that was one of the 24-year-old’s goals.
“I'm just focused on winning for real,” he said. “Everything else comes from that. … this game, this league, is a team sport. So we go out there and win. Everybody eats and everybody gets what they want.”
LEAVE THE LIGHT ON
It took 7 snaps into the New York Giants' second game of the year for the season to take a dark turn. Jaxson Dart took a hellacious hit to his front side that drove his left leg into another defender, torquing that knee in a direction it’s not supposed to go. Dart was immediately ruled out of the game, and after some initial optimism, came the hard truth: He needs knee surgery to repair MCL and meniscus tears. Dart’s expected to be out 4 to 6 months.
“I think he's determined. He's bummed. It's hard," John Harbaugh said. "The season is not over, but it is for him. We talked about that [in the team meeting], too. That was part of it. That was part of the deal. With injuries, there is a certain mourning that takes place — had the same thing for Calvin [Austin]. Same thing over the years because you realize how hard it is for a player, really. But it's tough on the team. It's tough on all of us."
Harbaugh is keeping the light on for this second-year quarterback in case the Giants make the postseason. That may be even more of a long shot now, considering Dart’s injury. Plus, he wasn’t the only one to go down in LA in the loss to the Rams. Concerns remain about edge rusher Brian Burns’ ankle, Andrew Thomas’ groin, and Malik Nabers popping his shoulder out of its socket (though he returned, unlike the others).
Can journeyman Jameis Winston somehow keep the Giants in the mix, especially if some of those stars are missing? He struggled mightily in his relief role in LA (11-of-27, 111 yards, INT) but by the middle of the week, was in full orator mode when he met with the press.
"The fans want to see wins," Winston said. "It's not about what I'm showing them. It's about us going out there and winning football games together, giving them something to cheer for, giving them something to stand behind. But right now, my heart, this is fresh. The opportunity is beautiful. It's amazing. I'm grateful for it, but at the same time, I've got a brother that I've got to keep lifted up, and I have to prepare for a football game.
“But I've prepared for many football games, and I've dealt with injury before. I've had an injury that was really bad. So, balancing the two, but keeping a perspective of do what you can with what you have right now, where you're at."
The Giants do catch a break with the schedule, hosting the 0-2 Titans on Sunday.
ENDANGERED SPECIES
It wasn’t just Dart who went down this past weekend. Caleb Williams appeared to have suffered a serious knee or Achilles injury, getting carted off the field with tears in his eyes. It turned out to be ... a grade 1 hamstring strain.
However, if Williams can’t go this weekend, his well-paid, highly regarded backup, Tyson Bagent, is also unlikely to play because he’s in concussion protocol. That means Case Keenum - admit it, you didn’t know he was still in the league - is in line to start. The 38-year-old hasn’t done that in three years.
Fellow draft classmate Jayden Daniels also got hurt on Sunday, and his injury appears to be more than a week-to-week deal. The Commanders signal caller braced himself for a fall and dislocated the same elbow he popped out last season. That cost him four games in 2025 (he missed 10 total with a litany of issues).
“It sucks for him,” Dan Quinn said. “I know how much these guys put into it. So when there are setbacks like this, you just want to stand by them.”
Washington now turns to backup Marcus Mariota, but there has to be some internal concern that Daniels, who was superb during his rookie season and led the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game, can’t withstand the physical punishment you take in this league. His slender build was a negative coming out of LSU, and the last year and change has done nothing to allay those fears.
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE
I have no idea if Todd Monken will fix what has ailed the Browns, but he is certainly shooting his shot.
After former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told a national television audience that the “Browns is the Browns,” Monken took the podium following an upset win over the Buccaneers and fired back.
“Browns are gonna Browns, f--- that," Monken said. "The guys took that to heart."
Forget, for a moment, that Monken misquoted Tomlin (who was quoting his former wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster). The 60-year-old is, I think, trying to give Cleveland an edge they’ve lacked for decades.
"I wouldn't say it was a topic of conversation. I just think that Monk said what he said, so that's how we all feel," DeShaun Watson said.
Watson was key to the win, completing 17 of 21 passes for 183 yards and two second-half touchdowns. That’s probably not what ownership wanted; they’ve already admitted the Watson trade and contract were a disaster (to put it mildly). Monken, though, can’t rightfully bench the quarterback after a win, so guess what? Watson gets the nod for the home opener. Playing in front of a crowd he insulted a month ago will make things…interesting.
“We’re past that,” Watson said of his previous critique of Browns fans. “I don’t want to backtrack on anything. We’re moving forward. There’s great energy now, great energy this week within the locker room and within the city. So let’s continue to build on that.”
“Deshaun (worked) 22 months to come back to play and give (himself) a chance to play at a high level,” Monken added. “And that’s really cool. So let it rip. What do you have to fear? Let it rip. Let’s improve every day as a team and as a unit.”
The Browns host the 1-1 Panthers on Sunday.
NERD NUMBERS
- No team has played more man coverage (42%) or more nickel than the Patriots. That has served them very well vs. 11 personnel (1st in EPA per play); however, they’ve been chewed up against multi-tight end formations (28th in EPA). Guess who loves to put tight ends on the field? The Jaguars, who ranked 6th in 12 personnel and 13th in 13 personnel.
- Brian Flores’ Vikings defense put the clamps on Ben Johnson’s Bears offense, holding it to the worst single-game offensive success rate since Johnson started calling plays (including his time in Detroit). Flores blitzed the Bears at a massive 77.5% clip, recording pressures on half the dropbacks.
- Deone Walker had seven pressures against the Lions. Only four other Bills players have had more than seven in a game since 2022. The second-year is coming into his own.
- The Bengals were cooking in Houston on Sunday, generating a 46.7% pressure rate. Jonathon Allen, free-agent signee Boye Mafe (Seattle), rookie Cashius Howell, and Dexter Lawrence all had six or more pressures. Not bad for a team that let their best pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson, walk in the offseason.
- Maxx Crosby already has five quick pressures this season and is fifth in pressure rate overall for the surprising 2-0 Raiders.
- The Jets defense has the best three-and-out rate in the league, at 40.9%.