Pats Pulpit
At 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, it became official. Two full months after sustaining a hamstring injury, Christian Gonzalez was set to make his season debut against the Carolina Panthers. The New England Patriots’ standout cornerback was not listed among the inactive, paving the way for his first in-game snaps since last season.
One big question nonetheless remained: how would the 23-year-old look in his first game removed from the nagging injury? While he admitted there was some rust to be shaken off, he generally looked like his usual self — a fact also reflected in his snap count number.
Gonzalez was on the field for 49 of a possible 69 snaps against the Panthers, a playing time share of 71% that had him tied for third most on the team. While that percentage might be smaller than his usual output as an every-down defender, his recovery process or the need to acclimate to game speed seems to have nothing to do with it. Instead, New England decided to give Gonzalez and other starters on both sides of the ball a breather with the game turning into a blowout down the stretch.
As for his time on the field, Gonzalez was credited with two receptions surrendered on three targets for a combined 31 yards. He also had three tackles. All things considered, his comeback can be seen as a successful one.
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 42-13 win at Gillette Stadium.
Total snaps: 49 | Time on the field: 23:55
LG Ben Brown (49; 100%), C Garrett Bradbury (49; 100%), RG Mike Onwenu (49; 100%), QB Drake Maye (43; 88%), LT Will Campbell (43; 88%), RT Morgan Moses (43; 88%), TE Hunter Henry (37; 76%), WR Kayshon Boutte (34; 69%), TE Austin Hooper (32; 65%), WR Stefon Diggs (31; 63%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson (28; 57%), WR Mack Hollins (24; 49%), RB TreVeyon Henderson (15; 31%), WR Kyle Williams (14; 29%), FB/TE Jack Westover (11; 22%), RB Antonio Gibson (9; 18%), LT/TE Vederian Lowe (8; 16%), WR DeMario Douglas (8; 16%), RT Marcus Bryant (6; 12%), QB Joshua Dobbs (6; 12%)
*denotes starter
The Patriots showed that the confidence they expressed in Rhamondre Stevenson was not just lip service. Despite losing a pair of fumbles against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3, the veteran was the first man up at running back and finished as his position group’s leader in snaps (28) and carries (9). Behind him, TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson continued playing their usual rotational roles.
Whereas Stevenson continues to be heavily featured despite his recent issues, the same cannot be said for DeMario Douglas. For the first time all season, he saw his snaps reach single digits (8) while he was not targeted all day. With the Patriots continuing to rely heavily on two-tight sets, other wide receivers are getting top billing over the third-year man.
The primary benefactor of that development is veteran Stefon Diggs, who had his most...
