In identifying potential keys to the AFC title game, we raised the question of whether the old Rob Gronkowski would play like the Gronkowski of old.
He did, and the Patriots are advancing in large part because of it.
The Patriots had 97 offensive snaps on Sunday, the most snaps for any team in any game since 2001. And Gronkowski was on the field for every single one of them.
His stat line was a far cry from what the Gronk of old routinely did, but the 79 yards gained on six catches significantly outpaced his projected over/under of 56.5 yards. And he made a pair of key third-down catches in the red zone both in the fourth quarter and in overtime, helping the Patriots in ways he hadn’t in weeks.
Apparently at full health and likely determined to win what would be his third Super Bowl ring and to earn his second (he was injured two years ago when the Patriot won Super Bowl LI), Gronkowski seems to be at full strength for the looming showdown with the Rams, and the question becomes whether he’ll walk away, win or lose, when the game ends.
