FOXBORO, Mass. — Rob Gronkowski pounded his giant fists together as he addressed reporters at his locker Sunday night.
The New England Patriots had just steamrolled the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals 43-17 — a complete turnaround from the embarrassing loss they suffered just six days earlier in Kansas City.
The media had run wild with that defeat — a 41-14 beatdown at the hands of the Chiefs — questioning everything from the offensive line to the play-calling to the quarterback.
That last part did not sit well with Gronkowski.
The Patriots tight end did not appreciate the negativity being spread about Tom Brady, who had just completed one of the worst four-game stretches of his Hall of Fame career.
Gronkowski took it upon himself to help Brady prove the doubters wrong.
“Yeah, definitely,” a visibly emotional Gronkowski said after Sunday’s win. “I told my brother before we came to the game, I (said), ‘I’m going to make (No.) 12 look like Tom Brady again today, baby.’ And I went out there, with my teammates, and we made Tom Brady look like Tom Brady after you guys were criticizing him all week. The fans, everything. And it feels so good, and he’s such a leader, and he went over 50,000 yards today. He’s an unbelievable player, and I’m so glad to play with him.”
Brady indeed was Brady against the Bengals, completing 23 of 35 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions and a passer rating of 110.7. The second of those touchdown strikes found its way into the arms of Gronkowski, who led all receivers with six catches for 100 yards.
Brady said the public criticism didn’t motivate him the way it did Gronkowski, though.
“You try not to get caught up in that stuff,” Brady said. “I think you just focus on the things you can control. To ride the ups and downs of, ‘You’re great. You suck. You’re great. You suck,’ it’s exhausting. It’s exhausting enough when you’re winning to have to deal with those things, and when you lose, it sucks for everybody. We don’t play this game to go out there and not play well.”
At least for one week, that ride will feature a great deal more ups than downs.
Photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
