On Saturday, the Patriots downgraded star CB Christian Gonzalez (hamstring) to out, meaning his 2025 season debut will need to wait at least one more week. Gonzalez is among the six Patriots inactives for Week 3: CB Christian Gonzalez (hamstring), WR Efton Chism III, OLB Elijah Ponder, NT Eric Gregory, G Caedan Wallace, and QB Tommy DeVito is the emergency third quarterback.
Earlier this week, Gonzalez returned to practice for the first time in over seven weeks. The All-Pro corner went 51 days between practices, with his hamstring injury occurring on July 28. When the Patriots signed CB Carlton Davis in free agency, the idea was for Davis and Gonzalez to form a shutdown duo. Unfortunately, Gonzalez’s injury has led to the All-Pro corner missing the first three games of the 2025 season.
The Patriots pass defense has been shaky without their star corner, allowing a league-high 677 passing yards while ranking 31st in passer rating allowed through two weeks (126.1). New England will now need to slow down Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers and his arsenal of weapons, which includes star receiver DK Metcalf, speedy wideout Calvin Austin and a stable of tight ends that Pittsburgh often uses in multiple tight end sets. In fact, the Steelers are in two-tight end sets on over 50 percent of their offensive snaps under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith (50.4%, second-highest rate in the NFL).
Due to his declining mobility and Pittsburgh’s lack of a downfield passing game, the blueprint vs. Rodgers has been to play man coverage. However, without Gonzalez, New England has struggled in man coverage this season, allowing a league-high 11.2 yards per pass attempt in man-to-man. Sunday’s game could come down to which unit breaks the early-season trend when the Steelers have the ball: the Patriots man coverages vs. Pittsburgh’s offense’s ability to beat man coverage. From this perspective, it would make sense for Davis to shadow Metcalf, captain Marcus Jones to travel with Austin, and then the matchups on RB Jaylen Warren and Pittsburgh’s tight ends could determine who wins this game.
Along the defensive front, edge rusher Keion White returns after missing last week’s game due to illness. Rather than choosing between White and Anfernee Jennings, as they did in Week 1, undrafted rookie Elijah Ponder is the odd man out at outside linebacker. Ponder had a limited role on defense in the first two games, but was a core contributor on special teams, so the Pats will have to replace his snaps there.
As for White, it’ll be interesting to see his role this week. New England’s top edge rusher tandem, K’Lavon Chaisson and Harold Landry III, are off to a solid start by both ranking in the top-20 in pass-rush win rate. Plus, Jennings made the most of his 11 snaps in last week’s win over the Dolphins, contributing to three run stuffs. The Patriots interior defensive line tandem of Christian Barmore and Milton Williams has also been highly effective. Williams ranks in the top-10 in both pass rush and run-stop win rate, while Barmore is drawing double teams at one of the highest rates in the NFL (53.6%). White is at his best rushing over the guards, but Barmore and Williams should be on the field in key passing situations. On the edge, White is less effective and has been repping behind Chaisson and Landry since training camp. There seemingly should be a role for a disruptive player like White, but it’s complicated when you peel back the layers.
Moving over to the offense, Patriots QB Drake Maye’s supporting cast is mostly healthy heading into Sunday’s game. It was somewhat surprising to see veteran RT Morgan Moses, who has been nursing a foot injury, off the injury report entirely. Despite practicing in a limited capacity this week after being questionable last week, Moses didn’t carry an injury designation into Week 3 and is active on Sunday. Moses’ effectiveness while playing through a foot injury bears watching. The 34-year-old tackle had some ups and downs in last week’s win, getting called for three false start penalties while having some inconsistencies in run blocking.
Moses’ top backup at right tackle is rookie OT Marcus Bryant. Given that he was also questionable this week, FB Jack Westover (hamstring), who is active, could also be limited. As a result, it’s possible that the Patriots could use Bryant as a sixth offensive lineman at the jumbo tight end spot, which would also help block a good Steelers front that features Pro Bowlers T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward. The Pats offensive line has been a bright spot for the team through two weeks, especially in pass protection, showing real signs of improvement with four new starters from the 2024 season.
Lastly, it’ll be interesting to see how the Patriots distribute the snaps at wide receiver on Sunday. Last week, slot receiver DeMario Douglas’s role was reduced to just 15 snaps due to the game plan and script. New England played over half of their offensive snaps in heavy personnel groupings, featuring multiple tight ends and bigger run-blocking receivers such as WR Mack Hollins. Due to an emphasis on being physical with a finesse Dolphins defense, Douglas didn’t play much, which was surprising given the positive momentum he had coming off a strong camp.
This week, Douglas could play more versus a Steelers defense that plays man coverage on 41 percent of their coverage snaps (sixth-highest in the NFL). Douglas’s dynamic route-running ability makes him a tough cover. If the Steelers stick to their usual brand of defense, “Pop” could have opportunities against single-high safety coverages, with Pittsburgh blitzing while playing man coverage. That said, the Steelers run defense ranks 28th in expected points added in the early going, so running at the Pittsburgh defense with heavy personnel is also an option, especially if you stay away from Watt. How offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels decides to attack a vulnerable Steelers defense will be a top storyline.
With the Patriots top slot receiver (Douglas) only playing 15 snaps last week, it stands to reason that Chism III continues to be inactive. Speaking to reporters earlier this week, wide receivers coach Todd Downing outlined why Chism has been a healthy scratch for the first three games, pointing to the undrafted rookie being a one-position (slot receiver) backup while not playing on special teams. Chism will get an opportunity eventually, but it was relatively easy to forecast that he would need to wait his turn. Here’s QB Drake Maye’s supporting cast on Sunday:
OL – LT Campbell, LG Wilson, C Bradbury, RG Onwenu, RT Moses
WR – Boutte, Diggs, Hollins, Douglas, Williams
TE – Henry, Hooper, Westover (FB)
RB – Stevenson, Henderson, Gibson
After notching their first win in the Vrabel era last week, the Patriots have a golden opportunity to win back-to-back games for the first time since 2022. New England plays the next two games at home, where it’s struggled lately. But turning that trend around is necessary for the bigger picture of where Vrabel wants to lead this team and a possible momentum builder in the short term, so this game has real stakes to get the 2025 season moving in the right direction.
The Patriots and the Steelers kick off at 1 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
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