FOXBOROUGH. Mass. — When the dust settled and the surprise wore off, New England Patriots players truly felt for their teammate Thursday.

Coach Bill Belichick addressed the team early with the news that Josh Gordon was stepping away from football. The receiver also was put on the reserve/commissioner suspended list for violating terms of his reinstatement under the league’s substance abuse policy.

All season, players were impressed with Gordon’s work ethic and performance. Now the focus is how he does off the field.

“We have a tendency to become so infatuated with what’s going on in the football field, as players, as media members, that we lose sight of what’s going on with the man sometimes,” said Matthew Slater. “Our No. 1 concern is with him as a man. Thankful for the approach he took here, how he was as a teammate. Enjoyed getting to know him and will continue to support him any way I can and be praying for him. I think that’s the No. 1 concern. You want to see him be fine, be OK.

“Life is so much bigger than football. Certainly that’s the case here.”

After turning into the Patriots’ top deep threat, players made it a point to say they’re not concerned with who’s going to catch passes from Tom Brady.

In the end, Gordon’s well-being is what matters.

“He was a great teammate, worked his butt off all year, so for us as players we wish him the best personally,” said Devin McCourty. “Football comes and goes. We’re all going to compete. We’re all going to work hard. We’re used to adversity when it comes to just playing football – lose a guy to injury, guy can’t play in a game. Life comes before that. We wish him the best and care about that more than wins and losses.”

“He was a great a teammate. Great guy,” Stephon Gilmore added. “You just pray about it and hope the best for him.”

THE PATRIOTS’ defense was able to respond after a letdown in Miami. When a team holds Pittsburgh to 17 points at home, it’s always a step in the right direction.

That doesn’t mean that the defense has its problems solved.

At this point, the biggest is stopping the run. Over the last three weeks, the Patriots haven’t been able to stop anyone, never mind last weekend’s third-stringer in Pittsburgh. Rookie Jaylen Samuels, a tight end/fullback/running back hybrid in college, came into that game with 59 rushing yards this season. He finished the game with 142 yards, averaging 7.5 per carry.

Last weekend the Pats allowed 6.3 yards per rush. The week before, in Miami, they allowed 9.0. Before that, against Minnesota, they gave up 7.3. When the Patriots allowed 150-plus total rushing yards this season, they’re 1-4.

On Sunday, against Buffalo, the Patriots will have to deal with three – LeSean McCoy, Chris Ivory and Keith Ford. It’s not a surprise to hear Belichick say this week that tackling will be a major emphasis.

“We saw Ivory and McCoy the last time. We’ve seen plenty of those guys throughout the years,” Belichick said. “They’re both very good. They have different styles. You can put Ford in there. He’s a tough, hardworking kid that runs hard. We can’t control who’s in there. We have to defend our area, defeat our blockers. But again, fundamentally, if you tackle well then that’s the place to start. That will be our emphasis.”

ON THE DAY the Patriots lost Josh Gordon for the rest of the season, the team was already light at receiver. By the time practice started, they were down another.

Cordarrelle Patterson was missing from practice due to an illness – his first absence of the season. Patterson hasn’t been on the injury report recently. He last was in November – limited with a neck injury.

With Gordon gone, the Patriots need all hands on deck. That includes Patterson.

This season he’s has been the jack-of-all-trades. Patterson has started at both receiver and running back. He’s also been one of the best kickoff returners in the NFL. Patterson has 20 receptions for 244 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. As a back he has 38 rushes for 162 yards and a rushing touchdown.