Along with a rough loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, the New England Patriots got some additional bad news on the injury front. 

Already limited at the cornerback position, Patriots rookie Christian Gonzalez went down after executing a hit on Tony Pollard. While he appeared to get up, he was taken out of the game and assisted into the blue medical tent by trainers. Soon after he headed straight into the locker room. 

On the following play, the Cowboys took advantage of a weak spot in the Patriots' defense and completely exploited it. Myles Bryant was moved over to cover Dallas' top receiver CeeDee Lamb, but he wasn't able to contain him. 

Lamb beat Bryant, finding his way into the end zone and hauling in the pass from Dak Prescott to put the Cowboys ahead.

And after the game, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about the impact of losing Gonzalez.  

“Yeah, that’s obvious,” Belichick said. 

While he didn't say much, this small statement does highlight how important Gonzalez is to the defense, with Belichick admitting that he saw the difference after the team lost him. 

The Patriots are already limited at the cornerback position, with Marcus Jones on injured reserve after suffering a torn labrum in the game against the Miami Dolphins. That combined with Jonathan Jones, who is dealing with an injury and has been inactive during the past few games, leaves the Patriots struggling. 

And now it appears that Gonzalez might be sidelined for some time after reportedly dislocating his right shoulder. 

The hope heading into the rest of the season is Jack Jones might be ready to join the roster once again after starting the season on injured reserve. He is eligible to come off next week. 

Yet, nothing will make up for potentially losing Gonzalez who has been a lock down defender throughout the opening month of the season. And it has shown with him being named the defensive rookie of the month for September. 

Gonzalez was drafted by the Patriots in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft and has not disappointed. For his contributions in his debut season, the cornerback was named Defensive Rookie of the Month for September.

In his NFL debut Gonzalez sacked Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Jalen Hurts and followed it up by interception Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa in Week 2.

Gonzalez has not shied away from the tough challenges, going up against the top receivers on the Patriots in practice and then having to cover the best ones around the league during games.

And he has been asked to step up in recent weeks due to the injuries that have plagued a few of the Patriots cornerbacks including Jack Jones and Marcus Jones. With that, it is Bryant and Gonzalez who have been tasked with filling in and they have not missed a step.

Fingers crossed he isn't out for too long. 

Patriots receive major scare during the first quarter of Sunday’s game against Cowboys

A harsh loss for the Patriots.

Featured Image via Patriots HC Bill Belichick has bold admission about Christian Gonzalez injury