Mike Vrabel gives blunt assessment of Christian Gonzalez's struggles

Mike Vrabel gives blunt assessment of Christian Gonzalez's struggles originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Patriots had a number of problems in their 45-27 loss to the Packers on Sunday, but Christian Gonzalez was one of the most glaring. The fourth-year cornerback, fresh off a contract extension that made him the position's highest-paid player, struggled mightily as the Packers burned New England's secondary. Jordan Love was 10-of-11 for 187 yards and a touchdown when targeting Gonzalez, shattering the cornerback's previous career-worst mark of 74 yards allowed. After the game, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was clear that Gonzalez's level of play didn't meet the team's standard. Here's a look at Vrabel's comments and how Gonzalez explained his difficult day. MORE: 4 QBs who boosted their MVP chances in Week 9 Mike Vrabel gives blunt assessment of Christian Gonzalez's struggles Vrabel said the Patriots "expect a lot more" from Gonzalez after he struggled in Sunday's blowout loss. "When your best players don’t play good, you don’t have much of a chance in this league," Vrabel said. "So, we expect a lot more. He expects a lot more. We need more from him and everybody else. It wasn’t just him." Vrabel took some responsibility, saying a lack of preparedness by the defense "starts with me," but he certainly didn't disagree with the assessment that Gonzalez struggled mightily. Both Christian Watson and Matthew Golden finished with more than 160 yards on Sunday, with 105 of Golden's yards coming while covered by Gonzalez. Gonzalez said after the game that he isn't planning to let the performance affect him going forward. "It’s not the end of the world," Gonzalez said. "I had a bad game, so I mean, I’m not shaken up by it. I’m not too worried about it. I’ll move on and be ready next week." Gonzalez signed a four-year, $135 million extension in September, after negotiations were one of the dominant storylines of Patriots training camp; the deal made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. MORE NFL: Ranking the worst offensive performances in Week 9 The Sporting News' NFL trade deadline predictions Myles Garrett shows Rams why they traded for him in return vs. Commanders