Gronk's One-Handed Catch One Of Best Brady Has Ever Seen
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady has seen a lot of amazing catches over the years, but Rob Gronkowski may have just topped that list.
If there was any debate whether or not Gronkowski is some kind of super human on the football field, that can be put to rest. The Patriots' tight end hauled in an incredible one-handed grab in the fourth quarter of Sunday's win over the Denver Broncos (watch it here), leaving his fans and teammates wondering what, if anything, this man cannot do.
"Incredible. That was one of the best catches I've ever seen. It doesn't get any better than that," Brady said following New England's 43-21 victory over the Broncos.
The catch came early in the fourth quarter as Gronk went over the middle looking for the end zone. Brady pump faked, getting the defenders to bite a little bit, but his pass was a little high -- even for the 6-6 behemoth. But it was no problem for Gronkowski, who put up his left arm (bionic brace and all) and engulfed the ball with his giant left hand. He kept possession as he fell to the ground and rolled into the end zone, but was ruled down at the one-yard line.
"It was a pretty good catch. Tom put it where I could make that play, so it just happened," Gronkowski said after the game. "It's just a reaction – going to the ball, when you see the ball, you want to go for it, so it's just a natural reaction to go get it, so it ended up being a one-handed, so it was pretty cool."
When asked to rate the catch, Gronkowski said he'll leave that to the media.
"It was a good catch, but you guys can do the rating of it. [I'm] just trying to make plays and make as many as possible when my number is called," he said.
Following the highlight reel grab, Brady rewarded his big tight end with a one-yard touchdown pass on the very next play. The one-yard touchdown, which capped off New England's 43-point onslaught against Denver, was the 50th of Gronkowski's career. It came in just his 59th game, tying him with Randy Moss for the second-fewest games to reach the 50 touchdown mark.
It's fitting that the stat includes both Gronk and Moss, who have the most memorable one-handed grabs in recent Patriots history. Moss's one-handed touchdown grab against the New York Jets in 2010 is likely the stiffest competition for the one Gronk corralled on Sunday, which the NFL tweeted out was "the most ridiculous football play of Week 9."
"That was just an incredible play. He's an incredible player," Brady said of Gronkowski, to whom he completed nine of his 10 passes to on Sunday. "Everything that he does, he's been making incredible catches since he got to our team. It was just a spectacular play from a great player. When he's going it's hard to match up with him because he makes plays like that. It's just pretty spectacular."
While having Gronk on the field certainly makes life a lot easier for Tom Brady and everyone else on the New England offense, the tight end was quick to point to Brady and the rest of the team for the win.
"Oh yeah, he's playing unbelievable right now, so is the team. Our defense is playing great, our offense is clicking, everyone on our offense; receivers, o-line, running backs, everyone," he said. "We're playing as a team, and we stick together as a team, and the team chemistry is coming along very well, so we got to keep it up, keep up the hard work, and keep playing as a team."
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