Patriots Rule Out Christian Gonzalez and Christian Barmore for Bills Matchup

The New England Patriots are heading to Buffalo this Sunday, and they are doing it without the two guys who actually make their defense watchable.

According to Ian Rapoport, standout cornerback Christian Gonzalez and defensive tackle Christian Barmore have both been officially ruled out for the AFC East clash.

"Ian Rapoport reported the Patriots will play without standout defenders CB Christian Gonzalez and DT Christian Barmore."

Going into Highmark Stadium is already a nightmare for opposing teams. Doing it without your best cover corner and your most disruptive interior lineman is like showing up to a gunfight with a strongly worded letter.

New England is fresh off a brutal 35-6 beatdown at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. Now they have to face a Buffalo Bills team that just handled the Los Angeles Chargers 24-16, and they have to do it with a defense missing its foundational pieces.

If you were looking at the total or the spread for this game, the absence of Gonzalez and Barmore completely changes the math. Josh Allen suddenly has a lot more time in the pocket and a lot less resistance on the outside, which is a terrifying prospect for a secondary that is about to get tested deep.

The Patriots are already reeling, and this injury report might just be the final nail in the coffin for Sunday. We will see if New England can scheme up a miracle with their depth chart, but right now, it looks like a very long afternoon in upstate New York.