Patriots vs. Broncos: Takeaways From 20-18 Loss

Tom Brady/Rob Gronkowski

Rob Gronkowski was an absolute beast in this game. He was the only guy on offense that showed up all day long (aside from the cramps), and he nearly brought the Pats back from the dead on their final drive. I love Julian Edelman, and he is still the third most important player on this team, but I apologize for ever thinking he was above Gronk in terms of what they mean to this offense. Gronkowski may very well be the best overall player in the NFL, and his monster game only reaffirms that notion. He finished with 8 catches, 155 yards and a touchdown, including two clutch catches on fourth down to extend New England’s final drive, and give them a chance at overtime. Also keep in mind he was doubled and triple-teamed for the majority of this game and still dominated.

Now for Tom Brady.

I haven’t had a chance to go and re-watch the game, so I am writing my gut, initial reaction to the live viewing of the game. This certainly was not a great performance by Brady, as is typical in this round for some reason for number 12. His first interception to Von Miller was about as bad as a pick as you will ever see, and while he was under a ton of duress on his second pick, it was still a bad decision to just loft it up and pray. He also missed a few throws throughout the game that could have really helped the Pats as they tried to put together a comeback. However he also had very little time to throw the ball all game long, as he was under pressure pretty much as soon as he dropped back. Whether it was Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware or Derek Wolfe bearing down on him, Brady simply didn’t have any time to go through his reads and make a good throw. It also didn’t help that his receivers couldn’t get open much all day long.

However with all of that said, after taking one of the worst beatings a quarterback can take (20 hits is unreal), Brady kept getting up, kept fighting, and nearly brought the Patriots back. After not doing a damn thing for 3 quarters, Brady started making clutch throw after clutch throw (mostly to Gronkowski) in the 4th, as the Pats racked up over 180 yards in the quarter alone. Brady was working with a line that couldn’t protect him, and really only had one receiver that could get open. But Brady, the greatest quarterback that has ever lived, somehow managed to move the ball right down the field on the best defense in the league on 3 separate occasions, and came within a 2-point conversion of sending the game to overtime.

That’s my damn quarterback.

It wasn’t pretty, and he made a lot of bad mistakes. But what separates Brady from the rest of them is that fight, that toughness, and that will to win that drives him through anything. He will get hit and knocked down. But he’s always going to get up and do whatever he can in the clutch moments to get that victory.

Next: Top 15 Patriots Moments of 2015 Regular Season

On to 2016.