Patriots Again Will Be NFL’s Most Dominant Team After Injured Stars Return

DENVER — New England Patriots fans picked out their Christmas toy on Black Friday. It’s paid for, taken home and stashed in the attic, but sorry, you don’t get to play with it until January.

The Patriots will be dominant again this season. Fans will just have to wait until essentially all of the best players (other than the best, best player, of course) have recovered from injuries to see it. And there could be some rough moments before the Patriots play their first postseason game.

Nos. 1 and 3 wide receivers Julian Edelman (foot) and Danny Amendola (knee) and star linebacker Jamie Collins stayed home last weekend as the Patriots traveled to play the Denver Broncos. Then the Patriots lost linebacker Dont’a Hightower, their best defender, and tight end Rob Gronkowski, their best weapon, during the game.

That’s why it should be no surprise the Patriots lost to the Broncos despite going to overtime, and until those five players return, they very well could lose again. But this team will be extremely difficult to stop in the playoffs, regardless of how it’s seeded and whether it plays at home or on the road, which is why it might be a good idea to hold out Gronkowski until the playoffs.

The Patriots likely will be without at least Edelman, Gronkowski and Hightower on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles — a game New England should win regardless — and whether or not they beat the Houston Texans in Week 14 will depend on how many of those players are back on the field.

Still, Brady threw for 280 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions with Keshawn Martin attempting to replace both Edelman and Amendola against the Broncos. Brady drove his team 51 yards down the field in five plays to set up a game-tying field goal with Scott Chandler attempting to replace the best tight end in the history of football. That shows the potential of this offense once its stars return.

The Broncos were averaging 2.9 yards per carry before Hightower hurt his knee during the second quarter, and the Patriots allowed 8 yards per carry and three touchdowns after he left the game. Add Hightower and Collins back into the Patriots’ defense — which is solid across the board, from the defensive line to the underrated secondary — and any playoff team will have trouble moving the ball.

It appeared tragedy had struck the Patriots when Gronkowski took a shot to his right knee and writhed in pain on the Mile High turf, but they caught a break. This team won’t live up to its full potential with left tackle Nate Solder, running back Dion Lewis and cornerback Tarell Brown on injured reserve, and its hopes of a perfect season were dashed. But the ultimate goal still is well in reach, and the Patriots still have a one-game lead over the Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals for the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed. Patriots fans were understandably disappointed Monday morning, but they should feel a sense of relief knowing Gronkowski’s injury could have been much, much worse.

It could be a long wait, but the Patriots are sitting pretty once they can unwrap that belated Christmas gift after Week 17.

Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images