What Just Happened

I’m not sure what just happened. Am I asleep and happily dreaming or am I awake and face-to-face with an improbable reality? I’d say impossible but it seemingly just happened so impossible doesn’t apply. Improbable will have to do. Their greatest warrior, their Ajax, Rob Gronkowski fell and still Tom Brady and the Patriots would not accept defeat. They trailed 26-14 with 2:39 to play. They would need Tom Brady to be Tom Brady. They would need to recover an onside kick. They would need a call. They would need someone to step up in Gronk’s absence and they got Shane Vereen catching 12 passes for 153 yards.

I was just along for the ride. And yes, that ride made me throw up.

 

They were headed for 9-4-0. Cincy was winning and would take the #2 spot and the bye for the AFC Playoffs thanks to the tiebreaker they earned when they throttled the Pats in Week 5. They were looking at their first loss at home in 2013. New England had played poorly for nearly three full quarters. From the perspective of my living room, things looked pretty bleak. How could they play well enough to beat the Saints and the Broncos yet be treated so shamelessly by the 4-8-0 Browns? It made no sense! This was supposed to be easy, like 31-10 easy; everybody said so! Dropped passes, an interception, a fumble. A twelve men on the field penalty! Then Gronkowski was carted off the field. Brutal. When Cleveland scored to make it 26-14 – for just the briefest of moments – I gave up. But then I reminded myself of all those people who left Gillette and missed the game-winning touchdown pass from Brady to Kenbrell Thompkins. There was time. They would need to recover an onside kick and that never happens but still… There was a chance (a 2% chance as I later found out). There’s always a chance with Brady. A minute and 38 seconds later, 82 yards later, 7 for 8 with 4 to Vereen and 3 including the TD to Edelman later, it was 26-21 and I was thinking how incredible it would be if – ohmygodohmygodohmygod – the Patriots recovered the onside kick! Because of the unnecessary roughness penalty on Edelman’s TD catch, Gostkowski had kicked off from the 50-yard line.

Six words all defensive coordinators hate:

Tom Brady on a short field.

As for the “controversial” pass interference call; Leon McFadden did not look back for the ball, did not attempt to make a play on the ball, and swatted Josh Boyce in the face as he attempted to catch the ball = pass interference.

As for the last two and a half minutes of the game; wow.

I can’t help but feel bad for Rob Gronkowski. After all the work to get back on the field, his knee gets blown up. Gronk was victimized by yet another defensive back unfamiliar with any body parts other than the knees and the head. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking of Moonpie in “Rollerball,” even if it was only for a moment. Then I felt cheated. Again. Will I never see Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski together and healthy in the playoffs? Maybe not.

Gronk is only 24. He can come back from this. It just doesn’t seem fair that he has to.

Not that fairness was mentioned.

Anyway, the early consensus amongst the pigskin cognoscenti is that Gronk’s ACL is shredded and he is done for the year and so are the Patriots’ chances to win the Super Bowl. Hard to argue with the numbers but after what I saw this Sunday afternoon, I wouldn’t bet against them.