Green Bay Packers v New England Patriots
Green Bay Packers v New England Patriots | Michael Owens/GettyImages
With injuries across the offensive roster this season making it hard for Drake Maye to do much on game day, the Patriots have relied on their star-studded defense to stay competitive over the past 9 games.
That formula has worked, for the most part, with the offense surprisingly picking things up in recent weeks, led by a bounce-back performance from Drake Maye. However, the last three weeks have been particularly frustrating to watch, as the team's best and highest-paid players are not living up to their usual standard.
That was especially true of the secondary against the Packers this past weekend, with Christian Gonzalez having the worst game of his entire career while trying to shut down wide receiver Matthew Golden.
He allowed 7 receptions for 105 yards to Golden and 3 receptions for 82 yards to Christian Watson, the most allowed by any defender in the NFL since 2018. So he didn't just have a bad day locking down one of the Packers' biggest playmakers; he had a bad day locking down two.
Obviously, it's a tough task for any cornerback, but when you're the highest-paid in league history, you're expected to play like the superstar you are. Because he didn't, his nonchalant post-game response didn't sit well with fans, and it seems it might not have sat well with Mike Vrabel, either.
Mike Vrabel didn't hesitate to criticize Christian Gonzalez for his uncharacteristically bad game
After brushing off his performance in a way that didn't suggest he understood how historically bad it was, Vrabel was asked about his perspective on Gonzalez's performance on Sunday, and he didn't sugarcoat his thoughts.
#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on CB Christian Gonzalez:
“You can’t take a nap in this league… Whoever the receivers are, especially the good ones, you have to play with great technique. You have to challenge when you can... They’re gonna catch passes, it’s just that they have to… pic.twitter.com/7uRIZWf7RB
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) November 9, 2026
"You can't take a nap in this league."
That would be putting it lightly based on what we saw from the cornerback on Sunday.
But Vrabel expressed confidence in Gonzalez turning things around and echoed his comments about having a short-term memory, which suggests his post-game comments didn't ruffle as many feathers inside the building as they did on social media.
That doesn't mean Gonzalez gets a pass, though, because he'll face a just as difficult task next week against the Lions: shutting down Amon-Ra St. Brown, who's already recorded a season-high 9 receptions for 153 yards in a single game this season.
And St. Brown might not be the only player he will line up against.
The Lions also have Jameson Williams, who isn't far behind his teammate statistically this season, and tight end Sam LaPorta, who could easily take advantage of the Patriots' struggling secondary, as Brock Bowers did when they played the Raiders in Week 5.
That week, Bowers recorded 8 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown, though Gonzalez didn't cover him for most of the game; Marcus Jones did.
Regardless, we need to see massive improvement from Gonzalez next week, or the rumors about something going on behind the scenes will only get louder. Debates are already underway about whether it was a mistake to give him a massive contract extension, while others wonder whether he's 100% healthy, since his performance hasn't matched what we saw in Weeks 1-3.
No matter what, the cornerback needs to play better and be the leader the Patriots believe he can be to get the defense back on track.