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In the era of comparisons and rankings and being prisoners of the moment, we can often get lost in largely meaningless debates about so-and-so being better than so-and-so, or so-and-so not nearly being on so-and-so‘s level, or whatever unprovable argument is ruling the day.
Such debates can often get in the way of something a whole lot more simple: Marveling at the unfathomable athletic achievements of a certain individual.
In this case, that individual is Rob Gronkowski, who will be handed a red jacket this weekend and inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
The 37-year-old Gronkowski will be sharing those halls with 37 other inductees, all of whom achieved greatness in New England. Yet Gronkowski will be on the very, very short list (along with Tom Brady and John Hannah) who can lay claim to have been the very best at his position in the history of the game.
Again, such things are debatable. And though there is a case to be made for Gronkowski in that regard, you won’t find it here.
Instead, to help stoke some memories that may be buried deep down in our hippocampi, let’s just run through the top five moments of Gronkowski’s utterly absurd, irreplicable Patriots career.
Honorable Mentions
Distilling Gronkowski’s nine-year Patriots career into just five plays or moments is difficult, if not impossible. So to share some of Gronkowski’s moments that didn’t make the list:
- Flipping into the end zone vs. the Chiefs on Monday Night Football in 2011
- Getting up off the turf and dragging multiple defenders on his back in Washington before bursting up the sideline for 30 extra yards
- The one-handed spin-o-rama touchdown at the pylon against the Bills
- Touchdown in Super Bowl XLIX vs. the Seahawks
- Setting a career high (at the time) with 162 yards in Tom Brady’s first home game after serving his Deflategate suspension
- Three touchdowns vs. Pittsburgh on the banner-raising night in 2015
- Reaching for a touchdown while muscling through three Panthers in 2013
- Making a bobbling, diving touchdown reception vs. the Tim Tebow-led Broncos in 2011 playoffs
- Catching nine passes for 116 yards and 2 TDs in Super Bowl LII vs. the Eagles.
- Third-and-10 reception over Eric Berry in 2018 AFC Championship Game in Kansas City to set up game-winning touchdown
- The Buckingham Palace guard celebration in London
- Giving the “Yo Soy Fiesta” interview
Honestly, there are probably many more. The man was a human highlight machine. But we don’t have all day. Let’s get to the top five.
More Patriots Coverage
5. ‘How the $%*# did you catch that?!’
Tom Brady threw nearly 14,000 passes in his NFL career, with nearly 9,000 of them being caught. Of all those passes, the one he couldn’t believe resulted in a completion to No. 87.
Facing Peyton Manning and the Broncos on a Sunday night game in 2014, Gronkowski reached back across his body while airborne to make a ridiculous one-handed catch inside the 5-yard line.
Brady was stunned, and he rewarded Gronkowski by hitting him for a 1-yard TD on the next play.
4. Throwing Sergio Brown out of the club
Rob Gronkowski’s dedication to blocking is what sets him apart from most great tight ends, and that was never clearer than in Indianapolis in 2014.
On a night when he broke four tackles en route to a 26-yard touchdown, it was his work blocking for a 1-yard Jonas Gray touchdown that is most remembered.
Gronkowski engaged with the former Patriots safety about 12 yards from the boundary and continued blocking him long after Gray scored, eventually discarding Brown about 7 yards out of bounds.
“He was just yappin’ at me the whole time,” Gronkowski said after the game. “So I took him and threw him out of the club.”
3. Peak of his powers in Pittsburgh
There’s a famous scene in “Good Will Hunting” when the titular character holds up some papers filled with equations and asks, “Do you know how easy this is for me?” That’s essentially what Gronkowski did after running a goal-line fade to catch a 2-point conversion over Steelers safety Sean Davis in 2017.
That conversion came after Gronkowski caught three passes for 69 yards on what proved to be the game-winning drive (thanks in large part to Jesse James dropping a pass at the other goal line before Ben Roethlisberger threw a game-losing interception on the other end of the field).
Gronkowski set a career high that night with 168 receiving yards. And he made it look easy.
2. Two-man game in Denver
Should a moment from a loss rank so highly? It’s a fair question. Ultimately, the answer is a resounding yes, because there’s perhaps no better singular drive to understand the potency of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski than the near-game-tying drive in the 2015 AFC Championship Game in Denver.
Trailing 20-12 with 1:52 left and a Super Bowl trip on the line, the Patriots took over at midfield, needing a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to tie the game. Immediately, they faced a fourth-and-10, and Brady only looked at one receiver, knowing that nobody could cover him.
Gronkowski got behind two defenders, Brady threw a rainbow, and the tight end hauled it in at the 10-yard line for a 40-yard gain.
Four plays later, facing another fourth down, Brady went back to Gronkowski. The tight end lined up on the left side of the line with his hand in the dirt and was again double-covered. Brady, who was under pressure all game long, threw up a prayer toward Gronkowski, knowing it was his only chance of success.
Gronkowski validated that belief, stepping between two defenders and making the touchdown catch.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, Brady went away from Gronkowski on the 2-point conversion, even though he was open. Instead, Brady threw to Julian Edelman, got picked off, and the game was over.
Gronkowski caught eight passes for 144 yards and the touchdown that day, and though they didn’t win the game, it was the type of performance that would never be forgotten.
1. Diving, Super Bowl-sealing catch vs. Rams
The Patriots’ sixth Super Bowl victory — against the Rams in Super Bowl LIII — is remembered mostly for being a defensive battle. The Patriots held the Rams and their No. 2-ranked offense to just three points and 260 yards, while New England struggled to generate points all night despite moving the football.
The dam finally broke, though, midway through the fourth quarter, when the Patriots ran hoss Y-juke for the third consecutive play. After going to Julian Edelman for 13 yards and then Rex Burkhead for 7 yards, Brady let it rip up the left seam to Gronkowski on a second-and-3 from the Los Angeles 31-yard line.
Despite having a linebacker draped on his back and a safety flying over, looking to break up the play, Gronkowski made a diving catch near the goal line. It wasn’t a touchdown, but given the dominance of the late-season 2018 Patriots running game, it was just as good.
Sony Michel punched it in from the 2-yard line, and the Patriots led 10-3. (Michel ran right past Gronkowski, who sealed the edge, on what proved to be the game-winning score.)
Gronkowski caught two passes for 47 yards on that drive, his final two receptions as a Patriot. And if the team ever decides to build a statue for the greatest tight end of all time, he gave them the perfect model on that critical catch.
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