Gronk gets fed
Sets team mark for multiple-TD games
FOXBORO — Tom Brady didn’t deliver Thanksgiving biscuits to Rob Gronkowski, but he gave the tight end something a tad bit more appetizing — pigskins in the red zone.
Gronkowski caught five passes for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns yesterday as the Patriots had little trouble with the Miami Dolphins, 35-17, at Gillette Stadium. The two-TD performance was the 16th of Gronkowski’s career, breaking the team record he held with wide receiver Randy Moss, who played in Foxboro from 2007-10.
“Anything Rob wants, I usually try to get for him, so anything to keep him happy,” Brady said with a smile. “He did such a great job (yesterday), he’s worked so hard all season long.”
As for the biscuits? “He said he’s not making any more, so he made up for it big (yesterday),” Gronkowski said. “But I still want those biscuits.”
Gronkowski was a key factor early as the Patriots jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, continuing a recent trend. After struggling coming out of the gate for most of the season, this marked the third straight game in which the Pats opened up an early double-digit lead.
“The fast starts are huge, we’ve been able to do that the last three games,” said Gronkowski, who caught three passes for 46 yards and a touchdown in the first 10 minutes. “I think it helps the offense and defense when we do that. It’s critical to come out to a fast start and just got to keep working hard to continue it.”
Even more surprising was the fact Gronkowski roamed freely through the Dolphins secondary in the early going. He was wide open on back-to-back plays, resulting in completions of 21 and 20 yards, setting the stage for his 5-yard TD reception two plays later to extend the lead to 14-0. The touchdown marked the 74th time he’s hooked up with Brady, passing the Drew Brees-Marcus Colston combination for fifth place in NFL history.
“That was all part of the scheme, part of the playcalling,” Gronkowski said. “When you get open like that, it’s kind of like set up previously. We were running the ball super good (196 yards) and we did an unbelievable job on offense as a whole. You got to make plays when they open up.”
The record-setting second TD came as a result of Gronkowski’s ability to get some separation from safety Reshad Jones. Gronkowski sprinted toward his left and hauled in a Brady pass for a 15-yard touchdown and a 28-10 lead with 10:33 left in the third quarter.
“(Receiver Brandin) Cooks did an unbelievable job of running his route going full speed with that post clearing everyone out,” Gronkowski said. “I just came through with a little patience and Tom made a nice throw and I made the play.”
Gronkowski capped his day with one of the Pats’ rare touchdown celebrations, even though he insisted it was not planned.
After Cooks caught a 5-yard touchdown reception to close out the scoring in the fourth quarter, the receiver jumped on Gronkowski’s back and pretended to ride him like a jockey would a racehorse toward the sideline.
“Yeah, that was not planned or anything. We got yelled at,” Gronkowski said. “We’re not allowed to talk about celebrations. That’s what we got told. But, I kind of want to talk about it, but I kind of don’t because I’ll get in trouble, so I don’t know what to do.
“So, it just happened on the spot. It wasn’t planned. We’ll just keep it there.”