FOXBOROUGH — Christian Gonzalez was playing in just his 15th career NFL game in just his second season.
But the young cornerback continues to emerge as a tentpole of what the Patriots are trying to build. After missing much of last year with an injury, Gonzalez is healthy and picking up where he left off.
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After the Patriots’ 28-22 win to Los Angeles on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, Rams coach Sean McVay said his team was intentionally throwing the ball away from Gonzalez’s side of the field.
“I had a lot of respect for the secondary, the different things they could do. Gonzalez is the real deal, does an excellent job, and I think it worked out that way,” he said. “There were some instances where we said if you can avoid him, let’s go ahead and do that,” he said. “It’s always about your players first, our team, and then what are those match-ups.
“And if you have the opportunity to be able to stay away certain things, then you want to be able to do that,” he continued. “But he’s a great player. I think it just kind of worked out that way. Then there were some instances he was at the point of attack. All things being equal, if you had your choice, you’d say let’s stay away from him.”