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| Gronkowski has enjoyed the best season by a tight end in NFL history. |
Less than an hour after New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, who is also in his second year in the NFL, broke Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow's 1980 single-season mark of 1,290 receiving yards for a tight end and increasing his total to 1,310, Gronkowski answered the bell.
With 1:30 remaining in the Patriots' final game of the regular season and it well in hand, Bill Belichick and Co. decided against taking a knee and give the 22-year-old a chance at history. Gronkowski was on the receiving end of a 22-yard pass play from second-string quarterback Brian Hoyer, pushing the former Arizona Wildcat's total to 1,327 on the year, ending Graham's brief reign at the top.
Gronkowski finished the game with 8 catches, two of those coming in the end zone and 108 yards. As for Graham, he also caught 8 passes, but just fell short of the century mark with 97 yards receiving.
Earlier this season, Gronkowski broke the NFL record for most receiving touchdowns in a single-season by a tight end. He finishes this season with 17 receiving touchdowns and 18 total TDs. The mark had been previously held by San Diego's Antonio Gates, who caught 13 TD passes in 2004, and was later tied by San Francisco's Vernon Davis in 2009.
It was just a week ago that Gronkowski surpassed Ben Coates (1,174) for the most yards by tight end in the franchise's history. Coates set his mark back in 1994 with Bill Parcells at the helm and Drew Bledsoe under center.
Gronkowski is only the seventh tight end in history to surpass 1,200 yards in a season and now has 27 TDs in 33 career games, including the postseason. He caught 21 TDs in his first 27 games in the NFL. That is the fewest games ever needed by tight end to reach that mark.
It's not the first time a receiver has flourished under the dynamic duo of Belichick and Tom Brady.
Recently retired wideout Randy Moss caught a record 23 TD passes in his first season (2007) with the Pats, while Brady threw for a NFL record 50 TDs that same season.
Speaking of Brady, just a week after Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke Hall of Famer Dan Marino's 27-year single-season passing yardage record, Brady followed suit. Needing just 188 yards entering Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills to accumulate the second most passing yards in NFL history, Brady passed for 338, bringing his total to 5,235.
At the time, Brady became only the third quarterback in league history to pass for over 5,000 yards in a single season.
Detriot's Matthew Stafford also decided to crash the party, becoming the fourth in history to join the elusive club, passing for 520 yards in his team's 45-41 loss to the Green Bay Packers and finishing the year with 5,038. Marino and Brees are obviously the other two, but Brees is the only quarterback to do so twice. In 2008, the future Super Bowl MVP also tossed for 5,000 yards, passing for 5,069.
As for the team, New England turned the tables on Buffalo and overcame a 21-point first half deficit, scoring 49 unanswered points. It was in Week 3 that the Patriots held a 21-0 lead only to have the Bills come all the way back and hand them there first loss of the season, 34-31.
The win captures the No. 1 seed in the AFC for New England and home-field advantage throughout the postseason, ensuring the road to Super Bowl XLVI goes through Foxobrough.
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