FOXBORO, Mass. — Two days after the New England Patriots’ win over the New York Jets, Josh Gordon posted an Instagram photo with the caption, “Knock me down 9 times, but I get up 10.”
It was a fitting encapsulation of Gordon’s performance on Sunday.
The veteran wide receiver took an absolute beating in New England’s 30-14 victory at Gillette Stadium, fighting through multiple injuries to finish with six catches for a game-high 83 yards.
Asked Wednesday about the way Gordon has performed this season, quarterback Tom Brady called what the wideout was able to do against the Jets “pretty spectacular.”
“Other guys were going down,” Brady said, “and he was getting the ball on the reverse. He got the ball on the go routes. And he just kept coming back to the huddle. I kept going, ‘Are you good?’ And he was like, ‘I’m good.’ He just kept answering the bell, and I think that says a lot about his mental toughness and his perseverance.”
Early in the third quarter, Gordon appeared to dislocate his finger while run-blocking, causing him to double over in pain. Minutes later, after having his pinky and ring fingers taped together on the sideline, he returned to the field and made one of the most improbable catches of this NFL season to date, hauling in an acrobatic 28-yarder along the sideline to set up a Patriots touchdown.
“Guys were dropping like flies out there, and he just kept getting back up,” Brady said. “There were a lot of hits he took on a very hot day. I’m just proud of him, what he’s accomplished, and we’re going to need to continue to do it — not just him, but all of us.”
Gordon, who caught a touchdown pass in New England’s season-opening win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, ranks fourth among Patriots pass-catchers in receptions this season with 11 and third in receiving yards with 175.
