The Patriots are making their final preparations for a home tilt vs. the Steelers, and star CB Christian Gonzalez could return to the lineup on Sunday.
New England released its final injury report for Week 3, listing Gonzalez (hamstring) among three questionable players. As of Friday, the Patriots haven't ruled out any players for Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots questionable players are CB Christian Gonzalez (hamstring), DE Keion White (illness), and FB Jack Westover (hamstring). The Patriots also noted on their final injury report that defensive coordinator Terrell Williams "will miss Sunday's game. [Inside linebackers coach] Zak Kuhr will assume the responsibilities in his absence." Kuhr called defensive plays last week as well.
After a lengthy absence dating back to early in training camp, Gonzalez returned to practice this week in a limited capacity. The star cornerback first injured his hamstring on July 28, running across the field with a pass route when he stopped short, grabbing at the back of his leg. In brief viewing windows for media members this week, Gonzalez went through individual and tackling drills while he was seen sprinting in warmups, which is a good sign that he's increasing his participation.
The All-Pro corner has missed the first two games of the season, where the Patriots pass defense has struggled. The Pats defense allowed a league-high 677 passing yards in the opening two games of the season, while ranking 31st in passer rating allowed as a team (126.1). Furthermore, the Patriots defense allowed a league-high 11.2 yards per pass attempt in man coverage, so the Pats have sorely missed their shutdown corner.
Although he might need a ramp-up period, getting Gonzalez back would be huge. This week, New England will face 41-year-old QB Aaron Rodgers and a Steelers offense that features star receiver DK Metcalf, dynamic route-runner Calvin Austin, and several pass-catching tight ends. From this perspective, it might make sense for Gonzalez to re-acclimate to game speed by being in specific defensive packages or playing on third downs, giving him 20 snaps or so to make an impact on the game while also understanding that he hasn't played much football from a conditioning standpoint since injuring his hamstring in late July. Again, even if he's more limited snap count-wise than usual, Gonzalez playing in any capacity could help the Patriots defense immensely.
As for the front seven, the Patriots could also get Keion White back in the lineup on Sunday. White missed last week's win in Miami due to illness and is officially questionable this week. With the third-year pro possibly returning, the question is how will New England divvy up the snaps at edge defender, which has become a competitive position group.
In the first two weeks, captain Harold Landry III and K'Lavon Chaisson were New England's top edge rushers. Landry is tied for the league lead with 3.5 sacks, while ranking in the top 20 in pass rush win rate through two games. Chaisson is right behind Landry with a pass-rush win rate of 18 percent (19th among EDGE). The duo has been effective, while veteran Anfernee Jennings gave the Patriots solid run defense in his snaps in Week 2. Jennings was involved in three run stuffs, effectively setting the edge of the defense vs. the Dolphins heavy outside zone rushing attack. In Week 1, Jennings was a healthy inactive with White healthy.
Although there's still time for all four edge rushers to make an impact, White's role will be worth monitoring moving forward. His play rushing on the outside has been inconsistent throughout his career, while the Patriots won't want to take stud DTs Christian Barmore and Milton Williams off the field often, giving White limited chances to rush over the guards, where he's more effective. Therefore, it's unclear where White fits.
Moving over to the offense, the good news for QB Drake Maye is that his supporting cast is mostly healthy heading into Sunday's game. Most notably, starting RT Morgan Moses (foot) won't carry an injury designation this week. Moses has a challenging matchup against star edge rusher T.J. Watt, a yearly candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. Typically, Watt likes to rush over the right tackle. The Pats will probably help Moses as much as possible with double teams, chips, moving pockets, and runs away from Watt so that he won't be on an island.
Lastly, the Steelers have several notable injuries, especially on defense. Pittsburgh will be without starting edge rusher Alex Highsmith (ankle), CB Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring), and S DeShon Elliott (knee). Steelers first-round DT Derrick Harmon (knee) is also questionable after missing the first two games of the season. Due to injuries and inconsistent play, the Steelers defense is currently 26th in DVOA, which is surprising given that Pittsburgh has five Pro-Bowl defenders and was a more respectable 18th in DVOA last season.
One would expect the Steelers defense, which remains shorthanded, to right the ship eventually. For now, the Patriots will try to strike while the iron is hot. New England is looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since the 2022 season, while the Pats have also had a disappointing home record lately. Although that has little to do with the current regime, those trends need to change under Vrabel.
The Patriots host the Steelers with kickoff shortly after 1 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
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