Christian Gonzalez didn’t try to dress it up after the Patriots got rolled by the Packers on Sunday. He owned the performance, and the numbers behind it made the point for him.
New England’s 45-27 loss at Gillette Stadium was ugly across the board, and Green Bay’s 45 points set a new mark for the most points ever surrendered there. Gonzalez was in the middle of the storm more than once, and afterward he was direct about how it went.
“They got the best of me today…I had a bad game,” Gonzalez said, via ESPN Patriots insider Mike Reiss. “Obviously, it’s frustrating…but it’s football. I’m going to have a bad game.”
The stat line backed up the honesty. Boston radio personality Alex Barth shared numbers from Pro Football Focus showing Gonzalez was targeted 11 times and gave up 10 catches for 187 yards. He broke up one pass and allowed one touchdown.
“The defense is counting on me to hold down the backside, hold down everything else just like we have been. Obviously, we didn’t, and they did a better job,” Gonzalez added in his postgame presser.
Jordan Love had his way with the Patriots’ defense, throwing for 372 yards and four touchdowns. Green Bay leaned on Gonzalez often, especially when Christian Watson or Matthew Golden were the matchup. Both receivers cleared 100 yards, with Watson finishing at 171 and Golden at 164.
The Patriots also gave up 478 total yards, a rough outing for a Mike Vrabel-led defense. The loss drops New England to 5-4, one season after winning the AFC title.
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The Bills Monday night trip to Minnesota ended up being part of a bigger ESPN broadcast story than just the game itself. Pat McAfees alternate feed for Bills-Vikings drew 406,000 viewers, while the NFL Networks Next Gen Stats broadcast pulled in 499,000, a notable edge in the same Week 9 window. It was also the second time this season that Next Gen Stats has topped McAfees show in viewership, a reminder that ESPNs experiment with alternate presentations is still fighting for traction.
There was still a bit of star power attached to the broadcast, though, as former CBS analyst Tony Romo made a surprise appearance after his departure from CBS Sports. Even with that kind of name recognition, the numbers suggest ESPNs prime-time broadcast setup remains a work in progress, especially when the competition is another niche feed drawing a larger audience. For Bills fans, it was one more layer to a national spotlight game that ended up generating as much discussion about the telecast as the action on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Fans Have One Big Reason To Be Uneasy About Sunday
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Bills Suddenly Have A Jets Concern Fans Can't Ignore
The Bills Wednesday injury report arrived with a little more weight than usual as they turned their attention to the Jets, and the list was long enough to raise a few eyebrows. Buffalo had 11 players on it, with several important names on the offensive line showing up as limited, including Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, Alec Anderson and Connor McGovern. For a team that has leaned on stability up front, that kind of midweek uncertainty is never ideal heading into a divisional matchup.
Christian Benford and Dalton Kincaid were also limited, adding to the sense that Buffalo is managing a few moving parts at once rather than dealing with just one isolated issue. Jordan Hancock and Tyrell Shavers were full participants, but their roster situations still leave some questions hanging as the week unfolds. The Bills have time to sort through it, but the early tone of the report is enough to make this Jets week feel a little more complicated than expected. [Read more 🡒]