Dugger, Gonzalez explain what went wrong on Metcalf TD originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
A brutal defensive miscue for the New England Patriots shifted the momentum in the Seattle Seahawks‘ favor during Sunday’s Week 2 matchup.
The Patriots had just finished a 60-yard drive with a touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk. Four plays later, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith found his star wideout DK Metcalf uncovered for a 56-yard TD to tie the game at 7-7.
Second-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez was tasked with covering Metcalf throughout the game, but safety Kyle Dugger admitted he was at fault for the busted coverage.
“We were in max blitz coverage, just a bad read by myself,” Dugger said after the Patriots’ 23-20 overtime loss. “And they caught us in a call that was kind of problematic, their offensive call vs. our defensive call.
“You just have to read the quarterback,” he added. “I didn’t get a good read on the quarterback. So, that’s basically like a bust.”
The Patriots sent six blitzers on the second-and-5 play, which called for the defensive backs to hang near the first-down marker and read the quarterback. The speedy Metcalf took advantage of his opportunity, blazing past Dugger and Gonzalez for an easy score.
“It’s max coverage. So, it’s not really a true man-to-man. So, yeah. They caught us,” Dugger said. “I checked the play to max blitz. Probably shouldn’t have, obviously. Hindsight is 20-20. But yeah, we checked it after they checked it. That’s just kind of part of the gam eplan.”
Gonzalez chalked the costly blunder up to a miscommunication.
“You can’t hide that in the secondary,” he said. “When that happens in the secondary, it goes for a big play. We’ll get it fixed and be all right.”
It was a rough day all around for the Patriots secondary. Seattle’s pass-catchers combined for 327 receiving yards on 33 receptions. Metcalf accounted for 10 catches and 129 yards.
New England, on the other hand, got virtually no production from its wide receivers. Although Polk scored his first career touchdown, he caught only two passes for 12 yards. K.J. Osborn (one catch, seven yards) was the only other Pats receiver to notch a reception.
The Patriots will look for a sharper performance on both sides of the ball when they visit the New York Jets on Thursday night. Both AFC East teams enter the Week 3 showdown with a 1-1 record.
