Rob Gronkowski was the Patriots’ leading receiver on Sunday night, but reaching that status with four catches for 51 yards is a pretty good illustration of how dismal a night it was for the New England offense.
They gained just 209 yards of offense and converted just two of their nine third downs on a night when they had the ball half as often as the Lions. It added up to a 26-10 loss and it left quarterback Tom Brady stressing the need for the team to be able to find other ways to make plays through the air when Gronkowski is in the spotlight of opposing defenses.
“It’s really been three weeks in a row where he’s gotten the majority of the coverage focused on him,” Brady said on WEEI Monday. “If I was a defensive coach I would be focusing my attention on him too. It just comes down to us getting out of that by getting the ball in other parts of the field, to different areas. We just haven’t been able to do that, certainly last night. ... I think we can play a lot better than how we played last night, but thinking and doing are two totally different things. You have to go prove it on the practice field and gain some confidence, and then you have to carry it over to the game. Gronk is going to get coverage and it gives other players opportunities. At certain times we have done a good job of that and last night I didn’t think we did a good job at all.”
The Patriots didn’t play Josh Gordon against the Lions and they’ll get Julian Edelman back after playing the Dolphins in Week Four. Those pieces could help make it harder on opposing defenses, but, as Brady said, the team will still need to prove it on the field before anyone’s likely to change the way they play the Patriots.
