Rob Gronkowski shared a statistic for fans to consider after the Patriots’ loss
As you probably know by now, the New England Patriots suffered a stunning defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL kickoff game at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night.
The defending Super Bowl champions gave up 42 points and 537 yards, both team highs under head coach Bill Belichick. Many sportscasters and fans were quick pounce on the Pats for their poor performance against eight-point underdogs, but tight end Rob Gronkowski brought up a statistic for critics to consider.
He shared on Facebook: “The Patriots have lost three previous season openers during the Tom Brady era (’01, ’03, ’14). They won the Super Bowl all three times.”
https://www.facebook.com/RobGronkowski/posts/1701331819909008
2001: New England lost to the Cincinnati Bengals under former quarterback Drew Bledsoe’s arm, but Brady was ultimately the passer to lead the team to their first-ever Super Bowl victory in his season debut as a starter.
2003: Two seasons later, the Patriots were blown out by the Buffalo Bills, 31-0, as Brady threw four interceptions and zero touchdowns. The team, however, would go on to boast a 14-2 record and outlast the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
2014: In the team’s most recent season-opening loss, Miami defeated the New England, 33-20, at Sun Life Stadium. The Patriots bounced back with a 12-4 record and once again made it all the way to the big stage, where they topped the Seattle Seahawks in the final seconds of Super Bowl XLIX.
Gronk mostly opted to let history speak for itself, but he did offer up a thinking face emoji as concise commentary.
