Gronk schools safeties Fallen comrade
Rough day in class for Jets tandem
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Gronk took the Jets to safety school.
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski overwhelmed the New York Jets’ talented but inexperienced pair of rookie safeties yesterday during a 24-17 victory at MetLife Stadium. He caught six passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns, and Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye took the brunt of the punishment.
“It went smooth,” said Gronkowski, who returned after a one-game absence with a thigh contusion. “We got the victory. Everything didn’t go as well as you thought it would . ... It’s always a dogfight coming in (against the Jets), and just coming out with a victory is huge.”
Gronkowski got the Pats’ first touchdown drive in motion with a 25-yard catch over linebacker Darron Lee, the Jets’ first-round pick in 2016. And then he took down Adams (first round, sixth overall) and Maye (second round, 39th overall) for his other significant plays.
Adams was flagged for pass interference against Gronkowski on the play before Dion Lewis’ 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter. And in the seconds before halftime, Gronkowski easily beat Adams for a 2-yard, game-tying touchdown catch from Tom Brady, which was an easy pitch and catch for the prolific duo. Adams had inside leverage on an obvious one-on-one assignment, and Gronkowski beat the rookie on a simple out route.
“It was good,” Gronkowski said. “It was great. It was huge. The interception (to set up the score) by Malcolm (Butler) was gigantic. That was a huge play by him. For us to go down and get a touchdown ... it was huge in order to get those points up.”
Gronkowski then gave the Patriots the lead on the first series after halftime. He beat Adams through traffic, caught the pass, breezed by Maye’s tackle attempt and high-stepped into the end zone for the 33-yard touchdown that gave the Patriots a 21-14 advantage.
“The one in the red zone, Brady put it on him real quick,” Adams said. “He delayed, then got it out real quick. I lost my leverage. But the second one, someone picked me and he made a play.”
The Jets have a talented group of youngsters on defense, but Brady and Gronkowski taught them a hard lesson yesterday as the youth got served.
“He was typical Gronk,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “He makes tough catches, and he had some big plays. We could have limited him a little more. He made more plays than we made.”
Memory Lane
On a day when the Patriots erased a deficit and the Atlanta Falcons blew a lead, Dont’a Hightower also had a crucial sack from the left edge.
Hightower’s responsibilities have varied in recent weeks, as he has taken snaps on the line and in the second level while playing a handful of positions. But a sack of Josh McCown on the final drive of the game was somewhat reminiscent of his Super Bowl strip sack.
At the very least, it showed Hightower’s capabilities now that he is healthy again after dealing with a sprained knee earlier in the season.
“Just showing up when my number is called,” Hightower said. “All through the game, we did a decent job as far as getting back there (to the offensive backfield). We missed a couple sacks. He’s an elusive guy. You can say whatever you want about him. I think he’s a really good quarterback. We’ve just got to stay on it and finish strong. Whenever my number is called, I just try to show up.”
Bademosi steps up
Cornerback Johnson Bademosi hadn’t played a defensive snap all season before getting the start against the Jets, which was necessary when the Patriots downgraded Stephon Gilmore (concussion) on Saturday.
It was interesting that Bademosi played over Jonathan Jones, who took the field in three-corner nickel packages, but Bademosi handled himself well. Bademosi backed up Gilmore all week in practice, and players in the locker room made it sound like they knew during the week there was a possibility Gilmore wouldn’t be able to play.
“He played great,” safety Duron Harmon said. “We were all on the same page. He played with a ton of confidence, and we have a ton of confidence in Bademosi. I know he just got here, but the type of approach he takes to the game,
Brady was apprised of Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ broken collarbone after the game.
“I didn’t know that,” Brady said. “That sucks. It sucks.”
As a follow-up, Brady was then asked about the way he has played and practiced through injuries over the course of his career, including a left shoulder ailment over the past couple weeks.
“The only way to improve is to stay out there,” Brady said. “The team can only really count on you if you’re out there practicing and playing. Ever since I started playing sports, I felt like I had to be out there for my team. We work pretty hard at it. I wish I could have played a little better (yesterday).”