No drama involving Bills and Rob Gronkowski this time around

FOXBOROUGH — Before Sunday's game, there was concern that Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was going to have a target on his back because of what happened against the Bills earlier this month.

Turns out, it was much ado about nothing.


The big tight end, who got handshakes and hugs from the Bills before and after Sunday’s game, came out of the Christmas Eve contest no worse for wear, catching five passes for 67 yards and a touchdown in the 37-16 win over Buffalo.

Given a chance to take a run at New England’s big tight end in hopes of getting some revenge, there were no cheap shots. No late hits. And there was precious little drama in New England’s victory — after the game, Tre’Davious White shrugged off any talk of anger when it came to Gronkowski.

“I went out there and played football,” said White. “(Gronkowski is) just a normal player, I don’t go out there and think about who it is. I just go out there and play.”

Sunday’s outing against the Bills was pretty much par for the course for Gronkowski, who boasts better career totals against the Bills than just about any other opponent. Turns out, that’s not a total coincidence.

“It's cool when you're hometown team passes on you twice in that draft, and you kind of remember it still,” he said. “No lie -- I remember it every single time I play them.”

Gronkowski was at his best on his touchdown catch. The big tight end made a one-handed grab midway through the second quarter, a 17-yarder that was one of his most artfully executed receptions of his 2017. He set up wide of safety Micah Hyde, made the grab, made sure to get his feet down and came away with the catch for what was the game-tying touchdown.



“It was a great catch,” recalled quarterback Tom Brady. “I was trying to give him a chance – it was man coverage. I was trying to give him a back shoulder (pass) and it was probably a foot further back than I wanted to.

“He’s just an incredible player. He made the catch and got his feet in; it was a huge play in the game.”

“He put the ball up there where I can only go get it,” explained Gronkowski.

“A good catch. It was right down the sideline,” said coach Bill Belichick. “I thought it was a great throw where only Rob could get it. Rob reeled it in and got his feet down.”

The Brady-Gronkowski combination is starting to gain some steam at the right time of year. In his last four games, Gronkowski has 28 catches for 464 yards and four touchdowns.

“I would say it started off in practice the last couple weeks,” Gronkowski said of the connection with the quarterback. “I mean, we've just been hitting the same page, we've been practicing hard and we've been just working on things and it just pays off – hard work throughout the week.

“It’s the end of the season. It's after Thanksgiving, where the games really count. That was a huge win,” he added. “We've got to have another good week now. We’ve got to be focused. We’ve got to be in the zone, and that's what it's going to take to come out, to have another good week and get another win.”