During the New England Patriots' Thursday night loss to the New York Jets, second-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez the first touchdown of his career, as Aaron Rodgers hit Garrett Wilson for a two-yard score.
At the time, New York was up 14-3, and New England's offense hadn't done anything.
Gonzalez lined up across from Wilson and soon after the ball was snapped, the cornerback attempted to jump the route and take the ball back for a touchdown of his own.
Unfortunately, Rodgers placed the ball so perfectly that it was just out of Gonzalez' reach, and Wilson corralled it to put the Jets up 21-3. They went on to win 24-3.
Speaking to The Boston Herald's Doug Kyed, Gonzalez explained his decision to go for the interception.
“When you’re in the goal line, you gotta sell out,” Gonzalez said. “It’s either... incomplete or a touchdown. That’s what you want to do. You want to sell out. That’s all you can do. Even if he catches it, it’s different when you get into the red zone. If I did that in the field, I can’t do that in the field, because he could catch it and get upfield. In the red zone, sell out, if he catch it, touchdown, if I make the play, I make the play. That’s an unbelievable throw by Aaron. That’s why he is who he is. He made a good throw.”
Considering the offense's struggles, Gonzalez knew he had to try and make a play to give his team a chance to win, but this attempt didn't work out as he had hoped.
Still, the 22-year-old has looked solid through the first three weeks, even if he won't admit it.
“There are some plays that I left out there that I wish I could have made,” Gonzalez said. “But it’s early in the season. There’s plays that I could have turned a PBU into a pick. It’ll come.”
While Bill Belichick's recent drafts have received deserved criticism, it looks like he nailed that selection.
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