The New England Patriots looked dominant on Sunday against the Houston Texans after winning 41-28 at home, but the team will be a bit weaker as they try to win a Super Bowl title after losing a key player.
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will miss the remainder of the playoffs after breaking his arm, according to sources who confirmed the news to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. According to Pro Football Talk, Gronkowski needs a second surgery on his arm and will undergo the procedure soon.
Gronkowski was hurt on a deep pass after catching a ball out of bounds in the first quarter and landing on his left arm, which had already been broken earlier in the season, forcing the tight end to miss time. Gronkowski went to the locker room and could be seen on television dealing with the pain.
"I said a really long prayer for that dude," cornerback Aqib Talib said to Boston.com. "He worked hard to get back. It's tough, man, it's tough. It's big losing Rob, but they played without him before."
The tight end is leading the team with 11 receptions and was playing for the second time since originally injuring the arm. Following the game Gronkowski was wearing a sling on his left arm.
"It's always a tough break," Patriots guard Logan Mankins said to ESPNBoston.com. "Everyone on the team loves Rob. Loves him as a person, player. It's a tough break for him, and it's always a tough break for our team, but whoever gets put in that spot, they have to do that job. We're all counting on him."
Gronkowski landed on the same arm he broke against the Indianapolis colts on Nov. 18, which forced him to miss five games earlier in the year, His first game back was the regular season finale against the Miami Dolphins and he looked relatively healthy after grabbing two receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Head coach Bill Belichick said he did not regret playing Gronkowski, who was wearing a heavy wrapping and padding on his arm during the game.
"The doctors handle medical decisions," Belichick told reporters after the game.
The Patriots also lost running back Danny Woodhead and defensive end Chandler Jones, who hurt his ankle later in the game.
"We had a whole plan built for (Gronkowski) and Woody," quarterback Tom Brady said. "We run the first series of the game and all those plans change. I think a little of it was, 'What are we going to do now? How are we going to adjust?' But we seemed to settle in there midway through the first quarter and put together a pretty good game.
Following the injury, tight end Aaron Hernandez and Michael Hoomanawanui got more action in the game.
"I just saw him a little bit ago," Hoomanawanui said. "A guy with that much talent, it stinks. There's no other way to put it. I went down with a knee injury last year that ended my season and you never want to see that for anyone, for an opponent, but let alone a guy that you spend a lot of time with each and every day."
The Patriots luckily have another tight end with similar skills in Hernandez and according to Peter King, the team was just as good with Gronkowski as they were without him. According to Monday Morning Quarterback: "Pats in the 11 regular season games with Gronkowski: 35 points, 433 yards a game. Pats in the five regular season games without Gronkowski: 34 points, 417 yards a game."
"It's hard to replace a player like him because he's a freak of nature," tight end Aaron Hernandez said.
Hernandez caught six balls for 85 yards and will need to step up next week against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game with Gronkowski out of the lineup. The tight end first suffered the broken forearm with less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Patriots' 59-24 win against the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 18.
Gronkowski has been healthy for his entire career up to this point, never missing a single game before being injured against the Colts. He dealt with an ankle injury in the Super Bowl last season, but played through the pain against the Giants. This season he has also been dealing with a nagging hip injury.
Gronkowski had 55 receptions for 790 yards and league-leading 11 touchdowns despite playing in just 11 games. Despite missing that time, Gronkowski was named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career. Last season he set a position record with 17 touchdowns to go along with 90 receptions for 1,327 yards.
The Patriots went 4-1 during the regular season without Gronkowski, but are much more dangerous with him in the lineup. Hernandez had made 46 catches for 439 yards and five touchdowns while playing in nine games before Gronkowski returned and he will need to continue that type of production as the team moves further in the playoffs.
The Patriots offense has been one of the most efficient in the NFL and is averaging a league-leading 34 points and over 400 total yards per game. This is now the second playoff run in a row where Gronkowski has been injured for the Patriots. He did not miss time last year, but was noticeably hobbled while playing against the Giants, including on a deep pass from Brady that he could not bring in that was intercepted by linebacker Chase Blackburn.
Without Gronkowski in the lineup, Brady will rely even more on wideouts Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd. In the game on Sunday, Welker had eight catches for 131 yards, while Lloyd added five catches for 32 yards and a touchdown.