FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots had just put together an impressive eight-play, 60-yard drive with Jacoby Brissett hitting Ja’Lynn Polk in the end zone to take a first-quarter lead on Seattle.
Four plays later, it was tied at 7-7. Somehow, DK Metcalf was wide open down the left sideline and Geno Smith hit him in stride for a 56-yard touchdown.
Where was Christian Gonzalez?
Nowhere to be found since he thought safety Kyle Dugger was going to pick him up Seattle’s star receiver, only Metcalf had already blown by him. It was an easy score for the Seahawks, who came away with a 23-20 win in overtime.
What happened on the play?
“It was a miscommunication,” Gonzalez said after the game. “You can’t hide that in the secondary. When that happens in the secondary, it goes for a big play. We’ll get it fixed, and be alright.”
Asked if he expected Dugger to pick up Metcalf after he let him go, Gonzalez repeated: “We just had a miscommunication.”
Gonzalez doesn’t feel the defense, with all of it’s complex switches, overcomplicates things.
“That’s what our defense is. We pride ourselves on being versatile and being able to move around and do different things,” Gonzalez said. “We’ll fix it. Everybody makes mistakes. It’s a mistake early in the season, and we’ll get it fixed.”
Between Metcalf (10 catches, 129 yard, TD) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (12 catches, 117 yards), the Patriots had a tough time taming Seattle’s wideouts.
Gonzalez had done well in his Week 1 matchup with Cincinnati’s JaMarr Chase, but wasn’t as successful locking down Metcalf.
Gonzalez made his share of plays, but Metcalf still made a significant impact.
“He’s a great receiver,” Gonzalez said. “I had fun out there (marking him). He’s one of the league’s best. I feel like I did alright. I’m not going to say I had a perfect game … he made plays, I made plays. But the main thing is we didn’t win. Besides that, it really doesn’t matter.”
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