On the first play of the fourth quarter of Sunday night's 30-24 overtime loss to the Broncos, the Patriots held a 14-7 lead but faced a third-and-8 from their own 37-yard line. In an example of how important Rob Gronkowski is to the offense even when he doesn't catch the ball, the Denver safeties collapsed on him before Tom Brady looked Brandon Bolden's way for the 63-yard touchdown. Here's how the play developed:
The players to keep an eye on are the tight ends, Bolden, and the Denver safeties and linebackers. pic.twitter.com/quornV6fEu
— Adam Kurkjian (@AdamKurkjian) December 1, 2015
Brady motions Gronkowski to the right and it becomes fairly obvious that the Broncos are in basic man coverage.