GLENDALE, Ariz. — If you want a reason to watch the Patriots over the final three weeks of the season, beyond watching Drake Maye’s development, it’s for the absolute clinic that cornerback Christian Gonzalez puts on every week in losing efforts.

Because the rest of the team is nearly unwatchable.

Gonzalez faced another tough test this week, shadowing Cardinals rookie wide receiver and No. 4 overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr. in Sunday’s 30-17 loss. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray did not shy away from targeting Gonzalez, because Harrison is his best wide receiver. But over and over again, Gonzalez proved it was a wasted play.

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The Patriots cornerback allowed just two catches on six targets for 28 yards with three pass breakups. Two of those forced incompletions came when Murray was targeting Gonzalez in the end zone on third down.

“I invite it,” Gonzalez said of being targeted in the end zone. “That’s what it is as a corner. You want them to throw your way. You want to be able to make plays for your team. When they throw it, try to make the plays that come your way.”

The Cardinals had to settle for field goals after the incompletions. Gonzalez subtracted eight points from the Cardinals’ scoreboard by preventing two touchdowns and turning them into field goals.

“I ain’t really worried about it,” Gonzalez said of his individual performance. “I want to win. Whatever the personal stats are, it is what it is, but I want to win.”

And the Patriots haven’t done that since Week 10 thanks in large part to a defense that was otherwise ineffective against the Cardinals. Quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Clayton Tune went 23-of-30 for 201 yards. The Cardinals rushed for 163 yards on 32 carries with two touchdowns. That included a 53-yard run by James Conner.

“The running game, once again, you let up a big run play that really hurts us and really skews the rest of the stats,” head coach Jerod Mayo said after the game.

Yes, the Patriots only would have allowed 3.5 yards per carry without the 53-yard run, but that play happened, and they probably would have lost anyway even without it.

And the Patriots have little excuse personnel-wise at this point. Safety Jabrill Peppers is off the commissioner’s exempt list and Christian Barmore has been back from blood clots for four games.

The Patriots were one of the best defenses in the NFL last season, brought back their best players and now are among the worst. The only significant player still missing is linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley.

Peppers doesn’t necessarily see it that way.

“We got a lot of guys who are playing a lot more football than they normally have, a lot more responsibility that they have to wear,” Peppers said. “Losing Bentley in the middle, that’s definitely hurt us as far as his attention to detail, getting the front seven the right way, making sure guys are where they need to be, holding guys accountable, things like that.”

Jahlani Tavai, Christian Elliss and Sione Takitaki have taken on bigger roles at linebacker in Bentley’s absence.

It was a bend-but-don’t-break effort that saw the Cardinals kick three field goals, but boy did the Patriots’ defense bend a lot. A lack of effort was also shown when Cardinals wide receiver Greg Dortch fumbled into the end zone, and the Patriots’ defense let offensive tackle Jonah Williams jump on the ball for a touchdown.

The Patriots were hurt by a ticky-tack personal foul penalty when outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings hit Murray late after the Cardinals QB had tossed an interception to Jonathan Jones.

“They just told me that even though he is a runner at that point, he still has some of that protection as far as hits to the head,” Mayo said after the game. “And they said Jennings hit him in the head, and they called it, gotta live with it.”

Gonzalez is now the 13th-highest-graded qualified cornerback in the NFL with a 75.2 mark, per PFF. Since Week 10, Gonzalez leads qualified cornerbacks with an 88.7 PFF grade.