Christian Gonzalez added Ja'Marr Chase to the list of top-end wide receivers he's slowed down in his young career, putting up another strong performance in the New England Patriots' 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Patriots' second-year cornerback allowed Chase to only have three receptions for 14 yards in Sunday's game, according to ScoutdNFL. Chase had a pretty quiet day overall, recording just six receptions for 62 yards and didn't score.
As Chase is seeking a contract that will make him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history, Gonzalez apparently didn't want to add the Bengals star's argument that he's worthy of such a deal. An unnamed Patriots player revealed what Gonzalez told teammates when the corner was speaking with reporters in the locker room following Sunday's game.
“He said, ‘He ain’t getting a new contract on me today,” an unnamed Patriots player said while Gonzalez was answering questions.
Gonzalez reportedly smirked when the comment was made.
The second-year cornerback's play also made Patriots fans smirk on Sunday. He impressed early on in his rookie season, slowing down A.J. Brown, Tyreek Hill and Garrett Wilson to win Defensive Rookie of the Month for September. However, his season ended right after, suffering a shoulder injury in Week 4 that required surgery.
Now healthy, Gonzalez's assignment was to get back to what he was doing as a rookie: Cover and slow down the opposing team's No. 1 wide receiver.
“There was a plan – they wanted me to go with [Chase],” Gonzalez told reporters. “I talked about it earlier this week – that’s what you want. Being a corner, that’s your dream. Being able to do that is fun.”
Gonzalez and the rest of the Patriots' secondary stepped up in not just slowing down Chase, but also the Bengals' entire passing attack. Joe Burrow only threw for 164 yards on 29 passing attempts. Outside of Chase, no Bengals receiver had more than 30 receiving yards.
Still, it was Gonzalez's effort on Chase that was pivotal to slowing down the Bengals' aerial attack on Sunday, especially with Tee Higgins out.
“I feel like we went out there and executed and did what we wanted to do. There were some plays we left out there, obviously, there’s never a perfect game,” Gonzalez said. “We’ll get in the film room and watch it. Personally, I feel like I did good. It was a fun matchup. He’s one of the best receivers in the league. It’s fun.”
What Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase said of struggling performance against Christian Gonzalez and Patriots
On the flip side, Ja'Marr Chase wasn't shy in showing his frustration with what happened in Sunday's game. The Bengals star said he was dealing with food poisoning, but felt good enough to make an impact in Sunday's game.
“Just wish we had more of an opportunity to make plays,” Chase told reporters.
Ja’Marr Chase reacts to “ask coaches” why only six targets. Says he had food poisoning pic.twitter.com/qja6t3y4kH
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) September 8, 2024
Chase only had six targets in Sunday's game, a modest number considering his talent. Playing time wasn't an issue for him, either. He played in 40 of the team's 48 offensive snaps.
But Chase wasn't sure why he finished Sunday's game with just six targets.
“I don't know,” Chase said. “You got to ask [Bengals head coach] Zac [Taylor] on that – I don't know.”
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