Rob Gronkowski has seen something brewing beneath the success of his old team this season, but he’s not buying the hype just yet. The New England Patriots crafted history in Week 16 by ending their playoff drought. Their quarterback, Drake Maye, delivered the biggest comeback of his career. But Gronk knows what needs to be fixed if the Pats want to make a deep playoff run: their run defense. 

“The only worries I got is their run defense actually,” Gronk told Kay Adams on the Up and Adams show. “They let up a lot of yards versus James Cook and the Buffalo Bills when they lost that game. And they were up 21-nothing.” 

Gronk’s analysis sticks. Week 15 against Buffalo started perfectly with the Patriots up 21-0, dominating. Then James Cook happened. The Pro Bowl running back exploded for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Between him, Ty Johnson, and franchise quarterback Josh Allen, they carved up the Patriots’ secondary for 168 rushing yards. Then Week 16 came; same movie, with a different villain. 

Against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16, Derrick Henry torched the Patriots’ secondary for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Baltimore inexplicably pulled Henry despite his dominance, a running back rotation that gifted the Patriots a 28-24 escape. The Ravens still managed to add another 43 yards and a third rushing touchdown without Henry.

“Derrick Henry was absolutely demolishing the secondary, the linebackers, he was getting through the holes and getting to the second level,” Rob Gronkowski further added. 

On paper, the Pats still have the 6th-best rushing defense in the league. But against elite backs with volume, this defense could bend, even break. And playoff teams won’t make Baltimore’s mistake. They’ll feed their horses until New England quits. The only thing helping the Patriots through the final stretch is their quarterback, and he knows it, too.

Drake Maye’s brilliance masks the cracks

Drake Maye called Week 15 against the Bills his wake-up call, and backed it up with a performance for the history books.

“It was kind of a wake-up call last week,” Maye said after torching Baltimore. “This week, it was like, ‘Man, let’s not have that feeling two weeks in a row.’”

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Maye dropped 380 yards (his best in a single game) and two touchdowns in his first career fourth-quarter comeback. What’s more, he owns opposing stadiums. Maye now has seven straight road victories, a mark no quarterback in their first two seasons has hit since 1950. That’s the stuff of legends. And when reporters asked about hitting 300 yards, Maye just spoke like a pure competitor, further solidifying his Pro Bowl nod.

“Yes, I care about winning. And if that’s what it takes, then hopefully I’ll try to do whatever it takes,” Maye said, smiling. “That’s what I’m trying to do for this team, and I won’t change that. No matter if it’s 50 yards or 40 yards, whatever it does to win the game.”

New England has now clinched its first playoff berth since 2021, a feat surely worth celebrating. Still, the uncomfortable truth is his offense is papering over defensive cracks that won’t hold in January. You cannot outscore playoff-caliber teams when their running backs are gashing you for 100+ yards and multiple touchdowns. Even Elite quarterbacks can’t fix broken run defenses when it matters the most.

There are still two regular-season games left to find answers. Otherwise, Drake Maye’s wake-up call might become the Patriots’ playoff nightmare. And Rob Gronkowski would be the one who saw this first.