The last time Rob Gronkowski was in Denver, he had to be carted off the field in the fourth quarter after taking a low hit from safety Darian Stewart. Gronkowski suffered a bone bruise and sprain of his right knee on the play, and was forced to miss the Patriots' next game, against the Eagles.
"I hate to see it, but it really is the only the way defenders can hit now," quarterback Tom Brady said after the Patriots' overtime loss on Nov. 29. "I bet if you asked the players they would really rather go high than low.