For the third time in three weeks, the Patriots were able to stage a second-half comeback, though this one was particularly miraculous. After utilizing an onside kick, Brady and offense scored a go-ahead touchdown with 35 seconds remaining, and the Browns missed a potentially game-winning field goal as the Patriots beat Cleveland, 27-26 (full highlights from the game here). Obviously, much of the talking points afterward will focus not on the crazy events of the fourth quarter though, as the third quarter injury to Rob Gronkowski takes precedent. There is no official word on Gronk’s status after recieving a serious shot to the knee:

However, Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports is already reporting news that Patriots fans are dreading:

 

 

Nonetheless, even without Gronk in their offense, the Patriots were able to secure their tenth win of the year, moving to 10-3. It looked bleak when Cleveland got a four-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Cameron with 2:43 to go. The ensuing Patriots’ drive went for a touchdown to Julian Edelman, but with no timeouts remaining and barely a minute to go, the game would be decided by an onside kick from Stephen Gostkowski.

He delivered:

Once the kick was recovered, Tom Brady utilized a suddenly-resurgent passing game and a flattering pass-interference call, moving the ball to the Browns’ one-yard line. From there, a Danny Amendola touchdown gave the Patriots their first lead in the entire game, and 14 points in 29 seconds.

Despite a last second drive from a surprisingly effective Jason Campbell and the Browns offense, Billy Cundiff (and old friend of the Patriots) could not hit the 58-yard field goal to win it, and the Patriots emerged with an unbelievable last-second win, 27-26.

 

Numbers worth knowing

– The last time that the Patriots recovered an onside kick was January 1st, 1995. In that game, a Bill Parcells-coached Patriots team lost to a Bill Belichick-coached Cleveland Browns team in the first round of the playoffs. There are all kinds of weird connections in that stat.

– In games without Rob Gronkowski this season, the Patriots are nine for 22 (40.9 percent) with touchdowns in the red zone. With him, they are 19 for 28 (67.9 percent). This stark contrast in success will become a major focus undoubtedly if Gronk is out for the year.

– Jason Campbell, by no means a dominant starting quarterback in the NFL, has totaled 735 passing yards against the Patriots in his last two meetings (the last one being his 2011 game with the Raiders). Interestingly, despite passing for so many yards, he is 0-2 against the Patriots.

 

T.J. Ward is not Bernard Pollard

Immediately after the hit by Browns’ safety T.J. Ward on Rob Gronkowski, almost as soon as it was clear that Gronk was seriously hurt, an examination of Ward began. Ward’s hit was indeed low, and predictably dangerous for Gronk’s knees. However, it should be said definitively: T.J. Ward is not a dirty player. He is not Bernard Pollard.

 

 

The other scapegoat that most are looking at is the new rule-system implemented by the league, which has tried to curb head injuries by fining players for hits to the head.

This opens up an entire line of discussion (that defensive backs are caught between a “rock and a hard place”) that will plague the NFL in the future.

In the short-term, blaming the NFL is a cop-out. Ward was going to go for Gronk’s legs whether this is 2013 or 1993, for the simple fact that he’s roughly 60-70 pounds lighter than the Patriots’ tight end. It’s was a terrible injury, but it didn’t happen because T.J. Ward is a dirty player, and nor is it because Roger Goodell is ruining the game.

 

Get ready for the Patriots doubters

With Gronk surely out for the foreseeable future (and probably the remainder of the season, at least), New England’s offense goes back to potentially being the struggling unit from the beginning of the year, when they went multiple games achieving only one first down.

As a result, get ready for a wave of Patriots doubters in the coming weeks. Especially if they struggle against the Dolphins next week on offense. Without Wilfork, Mayo and Gronk, the Patriots appear to be fatally shorthanded.

Yet even without all of those players (not to mentioned Alfonzo Dennard, Tommy Kelly, and several others), the Patriots still found a way to win. And in a comparatively weak AFC, there is no reason for the 10-3 Patriots not to be a little bit hopeful despite the injuries.

 

Images via Yahoo and Fansided

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