Gronk Makes Instant Impact In Return From Knee Injury
BOSTON (CBS) -- Life is just so much easier for the New England Patriots when Rob Gronkowski is on the field.
The All-Pro tight end made a surprising return Sunday night after missing a game with a knee injury, helping Tom Brady and the Patriots beat the Houston Texans 27-6 to improve to 11-2 on the season. He played 42 of 69 snaps according to ESPN's Mike Reiss, finishing the win with four receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Gronkowski was sporting a shiny new brace on his right knee, which was banged up two weeks ago in Denver. No one really thought the game-changing tight end would be back so quickly after he had to be carted off the field that snowy Sunday in the Mile High city. And when he did return, it was thought he would be more of a decoy than a play-maker, at least at first.
But Gronk was his usual self Sunday night in Houston, back to helping the New England offense move smoothly down the field. He wasn't 100 percent, but even some percentage of Gronkowski is better than nearly every other tight end in the league.
"When you miss a game, it's just hard to watch. You want to be out there playing football, making plays," Gronkowski said with a smile after the win. "But at the same time, you just have to be smart about it, which we were."
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was certainly happy to have one of his top targets back in the fold as New England snapped a two-game losing streak.
"He's a huge influence on what we do offensively. He really toughed it out," said Brady, who completed 22 of his 30 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. "I am proud of him."
Gronkowski made his presence felt early, hauling in a 45-yard reception in the first quarter. Brady rolled out of the pocket to buy some extra time, finding a wide open Gronkowski down field. Though he struggled to see the ball, Gronkowski made the reception to help set up New England's first touchdown.
"I was running that route and it was taking a while, and I couldn't even see Tom, had no clue where he was," he said of the play, which he followed by sticking his tongue out in celebration. "Next thing you know, I just see the ball go flying in the air coming to me and then I couldn't see the ball any more in that stadium. It went right into the lights for like half the way and I'm like, 'I know it's coming to me' and then when it was like 20 feet coming down, I saw it – 'there it is!' Just had to make that catch."
While it's obvious for anyone watching Brady throw the ball No. 87's way, the quarterback spoke of the great trust he has in Gronkowski's ability to make plays.
"Offensive football is always trust and anticipation and certainly there is nobody that I trust more than Gronk," Brady said. "He's just a great player, a great teammate. Blocking, pass protecting, offensively in the passing game — short, intermediate, deep — he takes advantage of good matchups. He's a great player."
Gronk showed those abilities just ahead of halftime, motioning out wide and making a nice move on corner Quintin Demps in the end zone to snag a one-yard touchdown grab out of the air and give New England a 17-6 advantage.
"Just had to make a little move. The DB played good defense and Tom just put it up there where I had to go up and make a play," he said of the score. "It's always good to make a play, get a touchdown."
The touchdown was Gronkowski's 10th of the season, putting him in a class of his own (if he wasn't already). He's the first tight end in NFL history with five seasons of 10 or more touchdowns, and the only tight end to ever have three 1,000-yard, 10-plus touchdown seasons to their name.
After the game, Gronkowski said he was happy to be back in the mix and help the offense return to form. He wouldn't answer questions about his knee after the victory, just saying it feels good.
"I'm very, very satisfied with how many plays I played, just getting back into the mix after missing two weeks," he said. "It just felt good overall to get back in the action. Hopefully we'll see how everything goes throughout the week now and the next games."
The Patriots are back to being the No. 1 see in the AFC after Sunday's win and losses by the Bengals and Broncos. And with Gronkowski back in the mix, things appear to be back to normal for their offense. There's plenty of reasons for the Patriots to smile again, and as usual, Gronkowski is a big part of it.
