Rob Gronkowski didn’t haul in a single catch this past Saturday night, but his presence still was felt in the Buccaneers’ first playoff win since 2002.
Gronkowski excelled as a blocker in Tampa Bay’s 31-23 victory over the Washington Football Team at FedEx Field. The Bucs racked up 142 total rushing yards in the Wild Card matchup, their third-highest total of the season to date.
Bruce Arians was awfully complimentary of Gronkowski on Monday while meeting with the media. The Bucs head coach lauded the veteran tight-end for being a team-first player.
“Gronk, he’s one of the most legit tight ends in the league because he can do both,” Arians said, per a team-provided transcript. “I wish he had gotten his touchdown because that was a play that we were looking forward to getting and (we) missed it by a couple of inches. That’s what he is – he’s a football player. He’s not a wide receiver. He does have a lot of stats, but he doesn’t go into a game looking for stats – he’s looking for wins.”
While Gronkowski clearly has shifted into being more a block-first tight end, the Bucs surely could benefit from him being more involved in the passing game Sunday. Tampa Bay likely will need a stellar offensive effort in order to beat the Saints in New Orleans.
