FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and the NFL:
1. Gonzo's 'contact courage': One of the most influential coaches in Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez's football career once relayed a message that Gonzalez said he still carries with him today.
Demetrice Martin, who coached Gonzalez at Colorado and Oregon and then sat next to him during an agonizing wait at the 2023 NFL draft when Gonzalez shockingly slipped to the No. 17 pick, told him there would be three defining areas on which he'd be judged in the NFL:
Man-to-man skills
Deep-ball ability
Contact courage
Gonzalez reflected on that message in the days leading up to Sunday's game between the Patriots (9-2) and Cincinnati Bengals (3-7) at Paycor Stadium (1 p.m. ET, CBS), where his goal will be to hit that trifecta in a highly anticipated matchup against receiver Tee Higgins & Co.
His "contact courage" has been noted by coaches and teammates as an often overlooked but critical ingredient to the Patriots' defensive success. A third-quarter play in a Week 11 win over the New York Jets -- when 6-foot-1, 205-pound Gonzalez jacked up receiver Tyler Johnson, leading receiver Isaiah Williams to run into Johnson's back on a sweep -- is one notable example of Gonzalez's recent success in that area.
"I've been pleased with him in the run game, especially the last few weeks. I think he's showing up in support and showing a little bit of physicality to that," said defensive playcaller Zak Kuhr, whose unit ranks first in the NFL against the run, allowing 84.7 yards per game.
This is why Gonzalez mentioned the influence Martin has had on his career, because Martin had demanded "contact courage" from him years ago -- even if pro scouts weren't totally convinced, which contributed to Gonzalez slipping from a projected top-10 pick to No. 17.
"It was just kind of triggering that, getting him to buy into the mental part of being physical," Martin, who serves as passing game coordinator/secondary coach at UCLA, told ESPN in a phone interview.
"He wasn't shy of contact -- never ever, really. He just didn't know at the moment of truth what tool to use. Developing those different tools for him to understand, 'This could be a cut tackle, this is a profile tackle, this should be a roll tackle.' Once he understood that, being very smart like he already is, there was no doubt that I knew he would be a really great tackler. It really took off when we got to Oregon; I just told him, 'I needed some guys to run into you just as hard as I talk to you.'"
Nonetheless, not all pro scouts were convinced.
"They questioned his, I don't want to say 'toughness', but the [term] that was used was 'dog.' They asked, 'Does he have the dog in him?'" Martin recalled.
Gonzalez proved doubters wrong quickly, as he was named second-team All-Pro in 2024. Then this year, under first-year Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and a mostly new coaching staff, Gonzalez was challenged in a different way by defensive coordinator Terrell Williams (who is now away from the team after a prostate cancer diagnosis).
"When Big T was here, he talked about how our defense will be judged not by how our inside players tackle but by how our corners tackle. He challenged us to be physical," said veteran Carlton Davis III, who starts at cornerback opposite Gonzalez.
"[Christian] has had a huge improvement this year on his run force and physicality. This year, he kind of checked that box. He's been showing up a lot against the run and showing he's not just a finesse corner -- that he can come up and hit and be physical at the line. I'm proud of him."
Gonzalez, who is still looking for his first interception of the season, has seven pass breakups and is tied for fourth on the team with 43 tackles.
"I think he's a hell of a corner. He has all the intangibles to be a Hall of Famer at the position," Davis said. "Obviously, he's a man-to-man corner, so you don't get too many ops on interceptions. But I think he can do it all."
2. Henderson's workload: With veteran running back Rhamondre Stevenson expected to return after missing the last three games, how does that affect rookie TreVeyon Henderson's playing time? Vrabel acknowledged that was something for the coaching staff to discuss.
Before sustaining a toe injury, Stevenson had played 61.8% of the team's offensive snaps to Henderson's 32.2%. But over Stevenson's three-game absence, Henderson played 82.1% of the snaps and totaled 47 carries for 264 yards (5.6 avg.) and four touchdowns, along with 10 receptions for 66 yards and one touchdown.
3. Maye's leadership: The Patriots' eight-game winning streak, and quarterback Drake Maye's exemplary performance over that stretch, has elevated Maye's leadership within the team. That was noted by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in recent days, as he pointed out that Maye believed it was important for him to achieve some level of on-field success before he could truly flex his leadership muscle.
"He's done that, and I think you can tell by his confidence, the way he speaks to other guys in terms of trying to work together to try to improve some aspect of our offense. His volume -- you can always tell when a guy is really confident and pushing because you can hear him," McDaniels said.
"He leads in the huddle, out of the huddle, in between practices. You'll see him after a series [in a game], and sometimes I'm looking for him because he's walking up and down the sideline and he's communicating with his teammates, which I think is really important. They need to see him and feel him. I know Vrabes is really adamant about that, and he's done a really good job understanding his role in that."
4. Red zone D: The good news for the Patriots' defense is that it has allowed opponents just 25 trips inside the red zone, which is the lowest total in the NFL. The bad news is that it has surrendered 18 touchdowns, with that 72% success rate ranking New England's red zone defense 31st in the league.
"We'll try to find some schematic answers to maybe alleviate some of that stuff, and we'll work some new stuff," Kuhr said. "At the end of the day, we have to execute. We all have to be on the same page, use the right technique, and make the play when it comes to us."
5. Swinson debut? With veteran linebacker Jahlani Tavai ruled out for Sunday's game due to personal reasons, Vrabel mentioned rookie Bradyn Swinson as one of the options the team could turn to in filling part of Tavai's role on special teams.
Tavai has played 71% of the special teams snaps, with one of his critical responsibilities in punt protection. Swinson, a 2025 fifth-round pick from LSU who was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad after the Week 11 win over the Jets, said he didn't play extensively on special teams in college but has immersed himself into that aspect of the game in the NFL.
6. Chism's spot: Rookie receiver Efton Chism III was active for five of the team's past six games, with his primary role as a kickoff returner. But with starting receiver Kayshon Boutte (hamstring) and Stevenson (toe) expected to return Sunday, the Patriots are essentially back to full health as an offense, and that puts Chism's spot on the 48-man game-day roster in jeopardy. Chism was inactive for the first five games of the season when the team had a similar situation.
7. White in SF: Defensive lineman Keion White has played in all three games with the 49ers since the Patriots traded him and a 2026 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
This is notable in New England because if White plays in four more games, the 2026 seventh-round pick reverts to the Patriots (adding to the current haul of 10 picks). Due to injuries to others, White has elevated to the top unit; he is averaging 38.6 defensive snaps and has totaled 2 tackles, a half sack, 1 pass defended and 1 fumble recovery.
"He definitely has something to him," 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said.
8. Close team: Offensive line coach Doug Marrone is in his 34th season of coaching and 18th in the NFL, and he said the 2025 Patriots might stand alone from any other team he's been a part of in one notable area.
"To me, it's probably one of the closest teams that I've been a part of," he said. "A lot of the credit goes to the players, and also Coach [Vrabel] for how he's been able to bring that together."
9. Did you know? Part I: The Patriots have had 31 players on their practice squad since the start of the regular season. Ten different players have been elevated to play in at least one game. There has been just one game, Week 5 against the Bills, when the Patriots didn't elevate a practice squad player.
10. Did you know? Part II: If the Patriots beat the Bengals for their ninth win in a row, it would mark the longest New England winning streak ever outside of the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era. Vrabel's 2025 Patriots are tied with Bill Parcells' 1994 Patriots for the longest franchise winning streak outside of the Belichick/Brady years.
