BSJ Daily Briefing 12.10.18: Patriots ... ugh, Gronk the defender, offense had 6 points in second half

Good morning! It's not a good morning so shut up Bedard....

A few random thoughts while I wonder ... I can't even make a joke ... who the heck thought it was a bright idea to have Rob Gronkowski on the field for the final play?!

• Seriously, there was no chance whatsoever of a Hail Mary. Ryan Tannehill, in his third game after missing six weeks with a right shoulder injury, was not going to throw into the end zone. So why was the tight end on the field? There's no logical reason that happened.


• So, yeah, that loss sucked and it basically eliminated any chance of the top seed, but I don't think it was going to happen anyway. So try not to overreact ... after about two days.


• One thing I'll be interested in watching the film ... why Tom Brady and the passing offense was so good in the first half, while Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon looked like a formidable threesome for the first time, the Patriots blocked two punts ... and the Patriots only scored 30 points — six in the second half.


• How did that happen?


• Don't even get us started on the run defense. Brandon Freaking Bolden ... really?


• If the Patriots franchise Stephen Gostkowski this offseason ... there's a pretty good chance there will be rioting in the streets. They have to, at a minimum, bring in competition for him.


• It's bad news his banana ball is back. It was an issue last year and took a while to, err, kick.


• Patriots have to flip the page quickly with Pittsburgh coming up. Steelers have lost three-straight and New England could deal them a huge blow for even a postseason berth.


• Quite a weekend for the Bruins. They beat the bag out of the Maple Leafs and then took out the Senators in overtime.


• Best news yesterday: Charlie McAvoy was back in the lineup after getting run by Zach Hyman.


• Celtics are going streaking...