For a second straight week, most of the highlights for the New England Patriots came on the defensive side of the ball in their Week 2 matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
They were presented with the seemingly impossible task of covering the Dolphins’ otherworldly receiving tandem of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and they overachieved in not allowing the game to be broken open.
Buy Patriots TicketsUnfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for their effort in stopping the run game after seeing them get pounded into the ground by Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
Rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez did a tremendous job matched up on the outside against Hill, who had five receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown, after going off last week for 215 yards and two touchdowns. The first-round draft pick even undercut Hill on one play and leaped high into the air to snag the first interception of his NFL career.
🚨 ROOKIE INT!🚨 @chrisgonzo28 @Patriots
📺: #MIAvsNE on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/FhXtx7w3wW pic.twitter.com/jY8NWbsXkx— NFL (@NFL) September 18, 2023
Let’s take a look at Gonzalez and the other nine defensive players that received the highest Pro Football Focus grades for the Patriots in Week 2.
10
Jalen Mills
Grade: 57.8
9
Davon Godchaux
Grade: 59.0
8
Jabrill Peppers
Grade: 59.3
7
Marcus Jones
Grade: 63.1
6
Matthew Judon
Grade: 63.4
5
Adrian Phillips
Grade: 69.2
4
Kyle Dugger
Grade: 70.3
3
Deatrich Wise Jr.
Grade: 71.2
2
Josh Uche
Grade: 78.2
1
Christian Gonzalez
Grade: 90.9
