Rob Gronkowski Makes Confident Claim About Patriots’ Super Bowl Loss To Giants

Longtime New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski told reporters more than a decade ago his ankle injury did not impact how he played against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. Following New England's 21-17 defeat, Gronkowski said he was operating at 100% despite the fact it was clear he was not.

Gronkowski has since changed his viewpoint.

During FOX Sports' pregame show Sunday ahead of the Patriots-Giants matchup at MetLife Stadium, the future Hall of Fame tight end confidently claimed New England would have won on Feb. 6, 2012 if he was healthy.

Gronkowski on Sunday also revealed he was dealing with a "broken ankle." Reports at the time referred to it as a high-ankle sprain, though the Patriots were tight-lipped leading up to the title game.

"We wanted redemption from the '07 game, the '07 Super Bowl," Gronkowski reflected. "I wasn't even on that team and I wanted redemption. And then we had our chance for redemption and you guys (Michael Strahan's Giants), somehow, squashed us once again.

"That's because I had a broken ankle when I played in that game. If my ankle wasn't broken, we would have won and we would have gotten redemption from the '07 season."

As Patriots fans surely will remember, Gronkowski suffered his ankle injury during the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens two weeks prior.

When the Patriots faced the Giants in the Super Bowl, Gronkowski was on the field for a season-low 45 plays (72%) and only had three targets from quarterback Tom Brady, according to ESPN Stats & Information.